![DOL Commissioner Roberta Reardon (red jacket, left) with Governor Kathy Hochul at a Women's Equality Day event in Albany on August 26, 2022.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/_RvCr3JPGbgaZeenO8rgM_qH-HJUPCWtfr2VBryKK3o/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9yZWFyZG9uLWhvY2h1bC5qcGc.jpg)
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.
![Albany State Capitol building with For Rent signs in the windows.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/D4YmEJGsTABLD-yz_uILo9m0P3a0-7razO_KGitPNVk/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9OWVNDYXBpdG9sUGFub3JhbWEuanBn.jpg)
A quarter of lawmakers in Albany are landlords. Almost none of them are covered by the most significant tenant protection law in years.
![](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/1MQSfv443D5l6AwewI3tstn43X27AL8teu44W-ydUFk/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9Ib2NodWwtaG91c2luZy1kZWFsLTIwMjQucG5n.jpg)
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.
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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.
![Carl Heastie in front of gas pipelines](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/rsefnGStfqK67TOYFvcSI8tYPnruh3U8BYFelJ-reMM/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9IZWFzdGllLU5ZLUhlYXQuanBn.jpg)
The Assembly rejected legislation that would have sped up New York’s transition away from gas.
![New York Governor Kathy Hochul stands at a blue and yellow podium that says "Consumer Protection & Affordability / 2024 State of the State."](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/6uCnEzguD9Sq2FitckcHatCHfVAchhF-7sdY9audKCs/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9ob2NodWwtY29uc3VtZXItcHJvdGVjdGlvbi5qcGc.jpg)
New York has one of the weakest consumer protection laws in the country. This year’s state budget may change that.
![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.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/Ijz8EmNn9Ch8p791KCqL-ETcgf2teel6kQkGtvwISaY/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9yaXZlcmEtcmFsbHkuanBn.jpg)
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.
![New York City Governor Kathy Hochul sits in front of a group of small children on a blue carpet.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/g4hJUSLC0ReHjWB-U85TiE_qyb6fjV4VYxsNGCD0lFo/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9ob2NodWwta2lkcy5qcGc.jpg)
One in five kids in New York live in poverty. Legislators are pushing Hochul to fulfill her promise to cut that rate in half.
![Transmission lines running through the North Country.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/8_yBGF2UjG2-qyXGGtH2qJftmizSrCnkgOng1_bD9jg/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy81Mjk3NzM1NzU5OF9hNzdhOGUxZmUzX28uanBn.jpg)
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.
![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.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/639R3WN1fICWJ30z69y72qF-moBMU2LYyAxnFXpt5oo/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5479:0.5979/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9wYXNzLWdvb2QtY2F1c2UuanBn.jpg)
As real estate developers resist wage guarantees and try to roll back tenants’ rights, a potential budget deal is at an impasse.
![Albany Capitol superimposed over 100 dollar bill money printer](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/hyZwzJ_VcqapbXTqs9tj_ftZPZS4v00aJGrMIqER-bg/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9hbGJhbnktbW9uZXlwcmludGVyLWNyb3AuanBn.jpg)
New York legislators have a plan to claim billions in federal funding for health care, driving a fight between industry groups.
![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.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/RlE5u9_EnJi_pXBpIKM95Z1kyIII9WN4gC6EyheCK8Y/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9ob2NodWwtd2FzaGluZ3Rvbi1idWRnZXQtaWxsby5qcGc.jpg)
We read the governor’s, Senate’s, and Assembly’s budget proposals — so you don’t have to.
![Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Governor Kathy Hochul, and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins before three tall stacks of paper.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/vAYBq9s1ncXprDt_IcSN-NakPdJFex5tx_13vkNvQuU/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9idWRnZXQtZmluYWwtMS5qcGc.jpg)
We answer your questions on the state’s notoriously opaque budget process.
![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.
![Governor Kathy Hochul, wearing a red turtleneck and blazer, sits at a table with other officials.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/-NLsSjX4gkF0SBMRROZ1o_OorTDgkBQqQa4icEZafrQ/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9ob2NodWwtcmV0YWlsLXRoZWZ0LmpwZw.jpg)
New York’s incarcerated population has been declining for decades. Why is it so hard for prison closures to keep pace?
![New York Governor Kathy Hochul stands at a podium next to a sign reading "treating addiction and preventing overdoses."](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/dsA1FRY8ztVSyXepupTSLafUgziMDDwTYAECvzdI6eM/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9ob2NodWwtb3ZlcmRvc2VzLTIwMjEuanBn.jpg)
Hochul’s budget would level off funding for addiction treatment — and use opioid settlement funds to fill the gaps.
![New York State Governor Kathy Hochul stands in front of American flags and behind a podium reading "Our New York, Our Future."](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/z4Hv2Gt-_fIVEbmYVkiVipxEmV4UTFZcviFEDNMObWA/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9ob2NodWwtbmV3LXlvcmstb3VyLWZ1dHVyZS5qcGc.jpg)
Her administration says the fund won’t be harmed. Legal experts question whether she can take it at all.
![A New York City subway on the left, and highway traffic on the right.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/a6y3tDTHzGOwb_wRMKTaBFNTUIAtfLDbudwOMb4jZWE/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9pU3RvY2stNTMzOTEwNzkxLmpwZw.jpg)
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law directed billions toward public transit in New York, but the state is choosing to spend billions more on highways.
![Governor Hochul in a hard hat](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/QhULKMIPqyA8LkHP1X0tAWVo-rkBHU51OnwL51P-j5s/w:600/h:400/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy81MTUwMzc3MzIzM19hZWQyODc4OTA0X2guanBn.jpg)
The governor and the Senate have aligned on large swathes of the NY HEAT Act. The Assembly might be ready to move on it, too.