The future of the penny in New York plotted through new policy

And ICE arrests in New York spiked from November to January, new data shows.

Good afternoon — It’s Friday and Tweed Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• With the penny no longer in production, New York lawmakers are moving a bill to give businesses guidance to avoid short-changing customers.

• Arrests made by ICE agents in New York spiked from November to January, new data analyzed by the Times Union shows.

• A former president of the Public Employees Federation has died after a car crash.

• Bills on the Move: Both chambers have passed a bill to combat bonus wage theft and bills that would require more detailed decisions from judges and give workers access to their personnel records are on the move.

• New Bills of Note: Loans disguised as checks would be prohibited in New York under a recently amended bill; a newly introduced bill targets the energy grid.

• At the Capitol: What we know about what’s happening next week at the state Capitol.

• This Week in New York History: The first U.S. House speaker and the first dance marathon

Names in today’s CapCon: John McDonald, Donald J. Trump, Paula Kay, James Skoufis, Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, Andrew Gounardes, Jo Anne Simon, Luis Sepulveda, Landon Dais, Rachel May, Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, Angelo Santabarbara

---

(Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

🪙 How New York could have businesses handle the phaseout of the penny

Assemblyman John T. McDonald III, a Democrat from Albany County, agrees with President Donald J. Trump on at least one thing: the penny’s days are over.

“He’s right. It costs us 3.5 cents to make a penny.” McDonald said. “The penny has to go off into the sunset.”

The federal government stopped production of new pennies last November for that reason. At the time, the cost of producing a penny had risen to 3.69 cents, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.