Last month, we published a guide to the key issues on New Yorker’s ballots in this year’s election.

We asked five questions:

1. Does Donald Trump have any chance in New York?
2. Can New York Republicans help their party keep control of the House?
3. Will Eric Adams’s bid to revise New York City’s charter be successful despite his indictment?
4. Will New York voters pass an amendment enshrining abortion rights?
5. Can Republicans make a dent in the state legislature’s Democratic majorities?

After yesterday, we can now bring you the answers.

In Brief articles are short explanations of important topics, agencies, and questions affecting the Empire State and its citizens. Do you have a question we can answer? Ask it here.

A state lawmaker wants New York to give $1,800 to new parents — and has a plan to get the federal government to pick up half the tab.

His proposal comes as bipartisan interest is growing among state lawmakers in a time-tested strategy to tackle the state’s persistently high levels of child poverty and help families afford to remain in-state: send new parents cash.

“It’s the thing to do this year,” said Pete Nabozny, policy director at the Rochester-based advocacy organization The Children’s Agenda.

The latest idea comes from Democratic state Senator Andrew Gounardes, who recently proposed a “Healthy Birth Grant” — legislation to send $1,800 to parents during the third trimester of pregnancy. The federal government would help pay, as the program would be run through Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income people and people with disabilities.

The money would only go to new parents who are on Medicaid, which covers about half of New Yorkers.

“When you have a new baby, the expenses come fast and furious,” Gounardes told New York Focus. “We want to make sure families have that extra financial support by the time the child is born, so they don’t have to worry about making ends meet.”

The bill makes use of a Medicaid waiver program, called Section 1115, that lets states test new ways to use Medicaid funds if approved by the federal government. The Biden administration has encouraged states to propose Medicaid uses to fund “health-related social needs.” Arizona and Oregon received waivers to finance rental assistance, and Delaware and Tennessee to cover the cost of diapers for infants. New York currently has a Section 1115 waiver that allows the state to use Medicaid for services like rental assistance and nutrition.