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Photo collage of Kathy Hochul hugging a young child, background image of tax forms.
New York State Council Issues Child Poverty Recommendations

An advisory group set up under a 2021 state law finalized its proposals to cut child poverty in half.

Julia Rock   ·   December 20, 2024
Governors Kathy Hochul and Josh Shapiro spliced together
Josh Shapiro Is Using Highway Money to Save Mass Transit. Could Hochul Follow?

New York has a little-noticed tool to shift billions of highway dollars to climate-friendly public transit projects. The governor doesn’t seem interested.

Sam Mellins   ·   December 9, 2024
Rows of desks in a classroom with a roll of dollar bills on each desk.
In Brief: What Is Foundation Aid, New York’s School-Funding Formula?

Here’s a simple explanation of a complicated and archaic formula — and why the state is updating it.

Bianca Fortis   ·   November 18, 2024
Former state budget director Robert Mujica sits at a table with a name card wearing a suit.
Former New York Budget Chief Robert Mujica’s Consulting Sparks Revolving Door Questions

New financial disclosures show when Mujica began consulting for the Greater New York Hospital Association.

Chris Bragg   ·   October 29, 2024
Governor Cuomo signing a bill
Small School Districts Face Costs of Settling Decades-Old Abuse Claims

Hundreds of Child Victims Act cases have been filed against New York schools, some over accused serial offenders that could leave districts with tens of millions of dollars in liability.

Bianca Fortis   ·   September 5, 2024
DOL Commissioner Roberta Reardon (red jacket, left) with Governor Kathy Hochul at a Women's Equality Day event in Albany on August 26, 2022.
Hochul Administration Pushes Back Against Unemployment Benefit Overpayment Reform

No state pursues workers for overpaid unemployment benefits as aggressively as New York. A proposed reform is colliding with New York’s own repayment problem.

Maxwell Parrott   ·   June 6, 2024
Albany State Capitol building with For Rent signs in the windows.
Landlord Legislators Carved Themselves Out of Good Cause Eviction

A quarter of lawmakers in Albany are landlords. Almost none of them are covered by the most significant tenant protection law in years.

Peter Tomao and Sam Mellins   ·   May 13, 2024
Albany’s New Housing Plan Would Build Only a Fraction of the Housing New York Leaders Say Is Needed

It’s the first step New York has taken to address its housing shortage in years — but tenant groups are fuming and real estate wants more.

Sam Mellins   ·   April 22, 2024
Your One-Stop Guide to the 2024 New York State Budget

A version of good cause eviction and new hate crimes are in; new taxes on the wealthy and education cuts are out. Here’s where things landed in this year’s budget.

New York Focus   ·   April 20, 2024
Carl Heastie in front of gas pipelines
Assembly Spikes Biggest Climate Proposal in New York Budget

The Assembly rejected legislation that would have sped up New York’s transition away from gas.

Julia Rock and Colin Kinniburgh   ·   April 19, 2024
New York Governor Kathy Hochul stands at a blue and yellow podium that says "Consumer Protection & Affordability / 2024 State of the State."
How the State Budget Could Crack Down on Bad Business Practices

New York has one of the weakest consumer protection laws in the country. This year’s state budget may change that.

Sam Mellins   ·   April 16, 2024
State Senator Gustavo Rivera, a major opponent of Hochul's cuts to Health Homes, speaks at a rally for health workers on April 17, 2023.
As Families in Crisis Struggle to Reach Services, Medicaid Cuts Threaten to Make It Worse

Hochul’s proposed Medicaid cuts include $125 million from Health Homes, a program that connects the neediest New Yorkers with medical care, food assistance, and more.

Eliza Fawcett   ·   April 9, 2024
New York City Governor Kathy Hochul sits in front of a group of small children on a blue carpet.
Washington Failed to Expand the Child Tax Credit. Can Albany Get Kids Out of Poverty Instead?

One in five kids in New York live in poverty. Legislators are pushing Hochul to fulfill her promise to cut that rate in half.

Julia Rock   ·   April 9, 2024
Transmission lines running through the North Country.
Clean Energy Transmission Battle Pits Speed Against Worker, Farm Protections

The Assembly and Senate want to beef up labor standards and farmland protections for clean energy projects. Developers say that would slow down the energy transition.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   April 5, 2024
Activists and New York state Senator Julia Salazar rally to pass good cause eviction in Albany. They stand in the high-ceilinged halls of the Capitol with a white banner reading PASS GOOD CAUSE and various red signs.
Wage Disputes and Tenant Protections Stall Albany Housing Deal

As real estate developers resist wage guarantees and try to roll back tenants’ rights, a potential budget deal is at an impasse.

Sam Mellins   ·   April 4, 2024
Albany Capitol superimposed over 100 dollar bill money printer
Get Billions of Dollars to Pay for Medicaid With This One Weird Trick

New York legislators have a plan to claim billions in federal funding for health care, driving a fight between industry groups.

Sam Mellins   ·   March 21, 2024
New York Governor Kathy Hochul at a podium next to her budget director, Blake Washington, with a binder, both superimposed over a photo of two stacks of paper files.
Your Guide to the 2024 State Budget Fight

We read the governor’s, Senate’s, and Assembly’s budget proposals — so you don’t have to.

New York Focus   ·   March 15, 2024
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Governor Kathy Hochul, and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins before three tall stacks of paper.
How the New York State Budget Is Made

We answer your questions on the state’s notoriously opaque budget process.

Sam Mellins   ·   March 11, 2024
Former state budget director Robert Mujica sits at a table with a name card wearing a suit.
Robert Mujica, Former Budget Chief, Advises Hospital Lobby on Budget

The former budget director’s role may break a law meant to keep ex-state employees from monetizing insider knowledge.

Chris Bragg   ·   February 29, 2024
Greater New York Hospital Association President Kenneth Raske sits at a table and gestures with a pen in front of an American flag.
How the Hospital Lobby Pummeling Hochul’s Budget Brought in a Billion Dollars

While the nonprofit Greater New York Hospital Association lobbied, a lucrative for-profit arm may have run up costs for hospitals.

Chris Bragg   ·   February 29, 2024
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