The next US Census likely won’t be good for New York. Because of nationwide population trends, the state is projected to lose two congressional seats, and with them, two electoral votes for president, according to recent findings from Carnegie Mellon University.

The other states that are projected to lose multiple congressional seats and electoral votes are California and Illinois, according to the research. All three states consistently support Democrats at the statewide level and in presidential elections.

On the other hand, two states are projected to gain multiple seats and electoral votes: Florida, and Texas. Both are set to add four seats, and both consistently support Republicans at the statewide level and for president.

A program making it easier to hire government workers has helped fill more than 50,000 jobs across New York state. But Mayor Eric Adams’s administration quietly abandoned a brief attempt to join the program in the face of union opposition — leaving a raft of vacancies in New York City government that now threatens to hobble the agenda of Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

In 2023, reeling from an exodus of public sector workers, Governor Kathy Hochul took a radical step: allowing state agencies to hire many employees without undergoing the many-months-long civil service exam process. The following year, her administration allowed local governments to opt into the emergency effort, called NY HELPS, and the vast majority of counties took her up on it.

New York City tried to opt in, too. It was a prime candidate: Vacancies in the city’s 300,000-person government have hovered around 4.5 percent since 2024 — more than double the pre-pandemic level. Agencies have reported that a lack of staff has prevented them from inspecting housing and restaurants, administering public benefits, upholding environmental standards, and more.

It’s an uncertain time for New York law enforcement. President Donald Trump has toyed with the idea of sending troops into New York City even though reported violence is nearing historic lows. His administration has also threatened the state with an incursion by federal immigration agents. Officials are debating whether to use cops to protect residents against Immigration and Customs Enforcement abuses and how to prevent law enforcement from enabling raids that are already underway.

The state’s prisons, meanwhile, are in such dire straits after a guard strike and mass firing that, for a second consecutive year, Governor Kathy Hochul wants to use the National Guard to help staff them. It’s unclear when all of the system’s 42 facilities will resume normal operations.

The public has questions, and on Thursday, it could get some answers. That’s when the state legislature will hold an annual hearing on public safety, part of a monthlong marathon of sessions aimed at unpacking Hochul’s state budget proposals. The hearings offer a rare opportunity for lawmakers to publicly grill state agency heads about events of the past year and their plans for the year ahead.