Packaging bill tops end of session lobbying list

And the use of AI in mental health care has prompted a new bill.

Good afternoon — it’s Wednesday and Radio Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• Here’s who spent the most on lobbying this legislative session and which bills got the most attention in its final two months. (Hint: Extended producer responsibility)

• Three years later, lawmakers want to know why a required review of microstamping viability hasn’t been finished by DCJS.

• Artificial intelligence has countless uses but one lawmaker wants to make sure mental health care is not one of them.

• Lawmakers will hold a long-awaited CDPAP hearing tomorrow in New York City.

• A new bill seeks to strengthen licensing standards for nutritionists in New York.

Names in today’s CapCon: Steve Cohen, Carl E. Heastie, Letitia James, Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Linda B. Rosenthal, Rossana Rosado, Kristen Gonzalez, James McDonald, Alicia Hyndman

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The State Assembly (Will Waldron/Times Union)

💵 Lobbying spending ticked up in the first half of 2025

The first six months of the year were quite lucrative for lobbyists in New York, whose clients reported $183.2 million in compensation and expenses.

That’s according to new data published Wednesday by the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government, which compiled the numbers for both the semi-annual filings and those required for May and June, the final two months of the legislative session.

That spending is slightly higher than the same period last year, when compensation and expenses were $182.4 million. Interestingly, compensation actually rose by a few thousand while expenses went down.

But you probably want to know who spent the most and on what. We have that too.