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Chris Bragg is the Albany bureau chief at New York Focus. He has done investigative reporting on New York government and politics since 2009, most recently at The Buffalo News and Albany Times Union.
![Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie at his desk in the state Capitol](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/RSLFpS9BlUzLzGiZM4LgvhXzOa_IvRrJjif8u2qPl5M/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9oZWFzdGllX3NwZWFrZXJfcGxhY2FyZC5qcGVn.jpg)
Rebecca Lamorte was let go by her employer in June, prompting the Assembly Speaker to place an upset call to her boss.
![New York State Capitol in front of question marks](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/M6F27FtwFni0zLkJUlsCFTOVh0tMlYp_2-UTkdI-VpM/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9zZWNyZXQtc2VuYXRlLXdvcmtpbmctcnVsZXMtZ3JvdXAuanBn.jpg)
A secret group of Senate Democrats helped decide the fate of nearly 650 bills over the last month. Just don’t ask any questions.
![A mostly-empty floor of slot machines at Resorts World Catskills, with one gambler sitting off to the side.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/X-ndk4w0kAaf1fdsoxGpfIRxUGy-hvHtBGunaJ0ttYg/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9ydy1jYXNpbm8tZmxvb3IuanBn.jpg)
Legislation to accelerate New York’s casino process copies a lobbying firm’s draft version nearly word for word.
![New York Governor Kathy Hochul shakes hands with someone in a Buffalo Bills uniform at Metlife Stadium in New Jersey.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/qmb9H8P21nPQ87--u-HNo5Px2Rw1owG9dcS9RpnUoa4/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9ob2NodWwtYmlsbHMtaGFuZHNoYWtlLmpwZw.jpg)
Asked for records related to top politicians’ use of a Buffalo Bills suite, Empire State Development cited potential interference with a law enforcement investigation.
![An ornate Senate staircase in New York's Capitol building in Albany](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/iv-wgkwKDtecsNae8nNHOphIGPeToQPMGAe-rz-hpdU/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9zZW5hdGUtc3RhaXJzLXdvcmtpbmctcnVsZXMuanBn.jpg)
You haven’t heard of it, and your state senator might not have either. The Working Rules group helps determine the fate of hundreds of bills at the end of each legislative session.
![Governor Kathy Hochul at Planned Parenthood rally](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/zL6MGJMRBIpUdY9yqWGVRMy9ihPjZw8duqE4P_kcF2s/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy81MjY0Njg3OTg5NF9hZmVkYzVhMjRhX2suanBn.jpg)
New York’s Equal Rights Amendment would enshrine the right to abortion in the state. A judge threw it off the ballot for the fall, but an appeal is expected.
![Workers set up barriers on a street in New York City.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/K9LqwDa4CwQuKOGR6VsAoKV5zHMkoob5oaIRqI0hxQI/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9iYXJyaWVyLXNldHVwLW5ldy15b3JrLmpwZw.jpg)
Low-wage manual laborers can sue to make their bosses pay them weekly. Hochul’s late-breaking budget addition may undermine that right.
![](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/84uIjWcJfG9ibnOV6CcIUpO9n7AF9Nd_ZHDQ2L_DVME/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9jb2VsaWctcmVkYWN0aW9uLmpwZw.jpg)
New York’s transparency watchdog found that the ethics commission violated open records law by redacting its own recusal forms.
![Governor Kathy Hochul of New York stands behind a podium with a Buffalo Bills logo and her arms spread wide.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/cNzf7lR3-_gDrVIK9kMbMPA-vgO3jH9xhQFwq9zii84/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9ob2NodWwtYmlsbHMtc3RhZGl1bS5qcGc.jpg)
Guidelines limiting gifts of taxpayer resources have “no teeth whatsoever,” according to good government watchdog.
![A blue car suspended on a post against a blue sky with a sign below reading "PATRIOT AUTO SALES: LETS DEAL TODAY"](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/DG7xG859HLOdA6-xTlurTIKm4Cf7esGqRIgl2iGi7Vc/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9wYXRyaW90LWF1dG8tc2FsZXMuanBn.jpg)
As the state legislature considers a bill to change warranty payments, unions join their bosses to make car companies pay more.
![New York State Assembly speaker Carl Heastie stands in front of a tile wall with TV microphones.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/D-gwg6gHDzOx-ouP-dhIGMdmwqAtHxzJjvvWwIXxgzo/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9oZWFzdGllLW1heS0yMDIzLmpwZw.jpg)
As the relationship was coming to light, Heastie returned $5,000 in campaign cash to a labor group from which he’d recused himself.
![New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie speaking at a press conference in 2021](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/cYePgtDnXliK02ky12dv3BWbsNUSjEtHTTTsWNqMM_k/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9oZWFzdGllLXByZXNzZXItMjAyMS5qcGc.jpg)
While Heastie privately pledged to avoid meetings with relevant interests, lobbyist Rebecca Lamorte has sought to keep representing them before the Assembly, according to her employer’s attorney.
![Former state budget director Robert Mujica sits at a table with a name card wearing a suit.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/oxCypGeZexTlp0wzDG1hc5-ymI5wpok5IFIu5I52GSQ/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9tdWppY2EuanBn.jpg)
The former budget director’s role may break a law meant to keep ex-state employees from monetizing insider knowledge.
![Greater New York Hospital Association President Kenneth Raske sits at a table and gestures with a pen in front of an American flag.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/LkG64y-xMF2KRFIBxoauH2ZLsF4Mp7a_MNqsNuh8lI0/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9yYXNrZS5qcGc.jpg)
While the nonprofit Greater New York Hospital Association lobbied, a lucrative for-profit arm may have run up costs for hospitals.
![New York Governor Kathy Hochul sits at a large wooden table and signs papers in Albany, New York.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/0q27TulF7u-MIcE8lAg9JJN4XRxN6E5dzVN-qo95NxU/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9ob2NodWwtc2lnbnMtYXN5bHVtLW9yZGVyLmpwZw.jpg)
With chapter amendments, governors can make major changes to pending laws. Kathy Hochul uses them more than any executive before her.
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A “ghost entity” linked to Tom Suozzi spent $2 million attacking Kathy Hochul. Then the Board of Elections started an investigation, and it disappeared.