What's in the three state budget bills introduced overnight

They're packed with items, including new prison oversight, buy-now-pay-later licensing and a statewide crisis response center.

Good afternoon — it’s Wednesday and Tourism Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• The first three budget bills are in: TED, PPGG and HMH. (Names below)

• I read through all three today to find what you’ll want to read about.

• Seriously, there is a lot packed in here, like rules for AI companions, a new age cap for State Police recruits and incident review panel requirements.

Names in today’s CapCon: None! Just bills.

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(Lori Van Buren/Times Union)

⚖️ What’s in the first three budget bills to get a vote on the floor

Good afternoon! I’ll keep this top section short so you can get to the good stuff.

The first three of the remaining nine budget bills were introduced overnight:

• Transportation, Economic Development and Environmental Conservation

• Public Protection and General Government

• Health and Mental Hygiene

I combed through all three today to pull the parts you’ll want to know about. There’s a lot to parse through below, so I’ve separated each item based on where it’s found in each bill. The bills have a ✅ next to them for people who skim.

If you want to read the actual bill text, click the links to each bill (below) and use the “find” function on your computer or device. Then search for the part.

For example, if I was looking for the section on public campaign matching funds, I would click into the Public Protection and General Government bill and search for Part OO. Happy reading!

✅ Transportation, Economic Development and Environmental Conservation (TED)

Here’s a link to the full bill.

MTA paratransit funding (Part L): New York City will be required to fund 80% of the paratransit operating expenses of the MTA through June 2027 as long as that amount isn’t more than the sum of $165 million and 50% of paratransit operating expenses.

Work zone speed cameras (Part Q): The Department of Transportation will be allowed to install speed cameras at 40 work zones on controlled access highways. That’s up from 20. The Thruway Authority will also be allowed to install speed cameras at 20 work zones, up from 10.

Artificial intelligence companion models (Part U): These are artificial intelligence models designed to engage in conversation with the user, often for companionship or emotional support. Sometimes it’s just to procure information.

This will require companions to be able to detect when someone is expressing suicidal thoughts or an intention to harm themselves. The companion will then have to give users a notification providing them with information on crisis resources.

The companions will also be required to notify the user every three hours it’s continually used that it is a computer program, not a person.

Civil penalties of up to $15,000 per day will be allowed for violations of the law. That money will go into a fund to support suicide prevention programs and initiatives.