What N.Y. Lawmakers Have, and Haven’t, Accomplished This Year
After a grueling year marked by Democratic infighting, New York State lawmakers are expected to conclude the 2023 legislative session this weekend with few marquee policy wins and a notable failure to address the state’s critical housing needs.
Despite last-ditch efforts, Democrats in control of the State Capitol failed to introduce or pass legislation to tackle the state’s affordable housing crisis, perhaps the most pressing issue on their policy agenda, leading to a public round of backbiting between lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Even so, Democrats were claiming victories on other fronts, weary as they were from drawn-out state budget negotiations that shortened their time to legislate.
Lawmakers are expected to pass a long-stalled initiative to seal old criminal records to help people convicted of certain crimes re-enter society. They also passed a bill to create a commission to study reparations for Black people, making New York the second state after California to undertake such an initiative, and were pushing to expand health care services for undocumented immigrants.
Source: The New York Times
