In New York, the state legislative session runs for roughly 60 days spread out from January to early June, but most of the actual passing of laws occurs over two periods. The first is when the state passes its budget, a document so overstuffed with unrelated bills that it’s known around the State Capitol as the “big ugly.”
Lawmakers are now entering the second period, as they and Gov. Kathy Hochul rush to squeeze in legislative priorities they couldn’t shoehorn into the budget.
In most years, the Legislature passes roughly 1,000 bills for the governor to sign or veto. So far, just over 300 bills have passed both houses this year, teeing up what could be a very busy final week of session, if history is a guide.
Some proposals, like a measure that would restrict social media companies from using algorithms on minors, are known to have the backing of Ms. Hochul, a centrist Democrat from Buffalo. Others — like a bill restricting state business with companies that contribute to tropical deforestation — seem likely to face a steeper road to becoming law.
Here’s what to watch:
One word: Plastics
At the heart of one of the fiercest debates in Albany this session lies an uncomfortable truth: Many plastics the state tries to recycle end up in landfills and incinerators instead.
The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act is aimed at reducing New York’s use of plastic packaging by 50 percent over 12 years, and ensuring that the plastic that does get produced can be recycled.
The bill would require companies that use single-use plastic packaging to find sustainable alternatives or pay a yet-to-be-determined fee, which would go toward covering the costs of municipalities’ recycling and waste disposal. New York City, which supports the legislation, could reap as much as $150 million to cover its costs, officials said.
While broadly supported in both the Assembly and the Senate, the measure has faced strong opposition from chemical industry lobbyists, which include the former state senator and chair of the Environmental Conservation Committee, Todd Kaminsky, and a large swath of over 50 business entities, including the New York chapter of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., New Era Cap Co., Coca-Cola and Heineken. They claim that the bill’s restrictions could disincentivize new recycling technologies and also increase the price of packaged goods.
In recent days, a counterproposal has emerged in the Senate that would create broad exemptions and lower the target from a 50 percent reduction to 30 percent over 12 years. Judith Enck, a former regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency who is one of the main lobbyists for the bill, described the proposed changes as “poison pills.”
It is not clear where Ms. Hochul stands on the proposal; last year she included a more limited version of this legislation, known as Extended Producer Responsibility, in her executive budget. She has yet to weigh in on the current iteration.
Safe for kids?
Ms. Hochul views the Safe for Kids Act, which would restrict social media companies from using algorithms to curate content for minors, as her top priority for the end of session.
The bill has the support of the state attorney general, Letitia James, as well as doctors, teachers and parent groups. And in the past weeks, several groups that had been wary of the bill, including some L.G.B.T.Q. organizations, have come on board.
Talks continue to progress among the governor; Carl E. Heastie, the Assembly speaker; and Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the Senate majority leader. But a high-powered lobbying campaign from some of the biggest names in tech may stand in the way.
Opponents, including Google and Meta, have called the measure unworkable, pointing to, among other things, the challenge of verifying ages online without the input of sensitive personal data.
Last week, Ms. Hochul acknowledged that the final measure would require “more than just date of birth” to verify minors online, but did not elaborate which methods were under consideration.
Medical aid in dying
New York lawmakers are slowly beginning to embrace a proposal that would allow terminally ill New Yorkers to voluntarily end their lives with help from doctors. The proposal would be limited to individuals with less than six months to live, who are physically able to ingest life-ending medication of their own accord.
The proposal has drawn fierce opposition from the Roman Catholic Church as well as the Center for Disability Rights, who say that New York’s narrow proposal will open the door for much broader applications.
Ten states and Washington, D.C., already have some version of medical aid in dying, and polling shows that the measure has broad support across the political spectrum.
Even so, it has yet to come to the floor, leading supporters of the bill to protest nearly every day as the session winds down.
The Harvey Weinstein legislative postscript
After Harvey Weinstein’s felony conviction on sex crime charges was thrown out in April by New York State’s highest court, lawmakers in Albany moved quickly to introduce legislation designed to prevent a similar outcome in the future.
The proposal would allow prosecutors to include evidence of prior “bad acts” in sex crimes trials to show a defendant’s “propensity to commit that act.”
The measure sailed through the Senate, but found opposition in the Assembly, where lawmakers felt that it had been rushed and raised concerns about potential unintended consequences. Mr. Heastie said on Thursday that lawyers in the conference had questioned whether the bill was constitutionally sound.
Those concerns, and the time pressure to quickly consider a bill that could greatly change the state’s legal landscape, seemed to indicate that the bill was unlikely to advance this year.
What about the environment?
Even as the governor has traveled around the world to boast about New York’s nation-leading environmental goals, climate activists in Albany have grown increasingly worried that the state is not doing enough to meet them.
Earlier in the session, the Legislature passed a bill barring the state from contracting with businesses that drive tropical deforestation. Ms Hochul vetoed an earlier iteration of the measure last year; she has yet to say whether she will sign or veto the bill this year.
Two other major environmental items have yet to come to the floor: The first, called the Climate Superfund Act, would require polluters to pay into a fund covering climate resiliency projects and other major expenses. Vermont just passed a similar measure, which is projected to bring in billions of dollars to state coffers. New York’s version passed the State Senate earlier this year, but has stalled in the Assembly.
The second would curb the expansion of New York’s gas infrastructure to help the state meet its climate goals. Known as NY HEAT, the legislation would cap heating bills for customers and get rid of the so-called 100-foot rule that requires gas companies to provide free hookups to new customers within 100 feet of an existing system. The energy industry opposes the change, which proponents project would save customers $200 million, saying that it will lead to job losses for the gas industry and could increase the price of energy.
The Senate has passed the bill twice, but it has failed to advance in the Assembly both times. On Thursday, Mr. Heastie seemed to signal movement, identifying the measure as one of his conference’s top priorities.
“We do want to do some environmental things,” he told reporters.
