The Capitol Pressroom

Aug. 29, 2025- New Yorkers are poised to lose their government health coverage in the coming years as the result of changes in Washington D.C., but a new report argues that community organizations could help prevent a gap in insurance. We explore this report and next steps for state policymakers with Elisabeth Benjamin, vice president of health initiatives at the Community Service Society of New York.

Aug. 29, 2025- Attorney Diane Houk explains why fair housing organizations are wading into a legal fight over the constitutionality of housing vouchers in New York and a law intended to prevent landlords from discriminating against tenants based on their payment method.

Aug. 29, 2025- Assembly Transportation Committee Chair Bill Magnarelli, a Syracuse Democrat, makes the case for increasing the cost of vehicle inspection fees and making the annual reviews more extensive. Legislation he moved this year would require the Hochul administration to study the existing standards and fees.

Aug. 28, 2025- The Hochul administration is looking for a firm to help craft the Next Generation Aviation Strategic Plan for New York so we consider what the future of this evolving field might look like with Ken Stewart, president & CEO of NUAIR.

Aug. 28, 2025- Politico New York reporter Marie French unpacks a decision by the state utility regulator to put another nail in the coffin of a scrapped transmission project originally intended to serve New York City.

Aug. 28, 2025- New York state lawmakers unanimously backed a measure to join a multi-state effort to promote accurate voter enrollment records. We discuss this voter integrity effort with Shane Hamlin, executive director of the Electronic Registration Information Center.

Aug. 27, 2025- Democratic state lawmakers want to empower state financial regulators to create standardized definitions for common insurance terms. We consider this pending legislation with Brad Lachut, director of government affairs for the Professional Insurance Agents of New York.

Aug. 27, 2025- University of Washington-Tacoma professor Eric Madfis explains how school behavioral threat assessments can reduce serious violence and considers how they might be deployed more widely in New York.

Aug. 27, 2025- The Hochul administration wants to update how parole officials consider applications from people who committed serious offenses when they were kids, but state Sen. Dean Murray, a Long Island Republicans, argues the emphasis is misplaced.

Aug. 26, 2025-Bottle redemption centers have been sounding the alarm about a fiscal crisis for years, but no relief has been coming from state lawmakers in Albany. We get an update on the situation from Jade Eddy, owner of MT Returnables.

Aug. 26, 2025- Assembly Health Committee Chair Amy Paulin, a Westchester County Democrat, discusses the crisis in early intervention accessibility and questions the Hochul administration's implementation of funding to support these services.

Aug. 26, 2025- In response to President Donald Trump's effort to allow church leaders to make political endorsements, Assemblymember Tony Simone, a Manhattan Democrat, makes the case for legislation intended to keep nonprofits from backing political candidates by tying nonpartisanship to their state tax-exempt status.

Aug. 25, 2025- Dr. Penelope Lema, an emergency room physician, makes the case for requiring hospitals to craft plans for keeping their staff safe from the threat of violence at work.

Aug. 25, 2025- State Senate Investigations & Government Operations Committee Chair Jim Skoufis, a Hudson Valley Democrat, reflects on an inquiry into the transition of a popular home care program. We touch on the lack of answers from the Hochul administration at the hearing and possible next steps for state lawmakers.

Aug. 25, 2025- The state senate's housing leader, Manhattan Democrat Brian Kavanagh, discusses why his chamber is looking into the cost and accessibility of residential property insurance.

Aug. 22, 2025- Drew Warshaw is hoping to be the next state comptroller and is mounting a big to wrest the Democratic nomination away from long-time incumbent Tom DiNapoli. We talk about changes he wants to make  to the administration of pension fund, approach to auditing and distribution of unclaimed funds.

Aug. 22, 2025- Employment is a key part of the recovery process from substance abuse, so we explore what New York policymakers are doing to promote recovery ready workplaces with Christopher Assini, director of policy at Friends of Recovery - New York.

Aug. 22, 2025- Assembly Energy Committee Chair Didi Barrett, a Hudson Valley Democrat, expresses her opposition to the governor's planned cutbacks on subsidies for home energy efficiency programs.

Aug. 21, 2025- This summer a quarantine zone for the European Cherry Fruit Fly was expanded in central New York so we explore the danger of this threat with Kevin Bittner, orchard manager at Bittner Singer Orchards.

Aug. 21, 2025- Dr. Rachel Flink-Bochacki, a board certified OBGYN and legislative chair of the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists District II, shares concerns with legislation requiring health care providers to share information about IUDs, including pain associated with insertion, when discussing birth control with patients.

Aug. 21, 2025- Assemblyman Phil Steck, a Capital Region Democrat, explains his bill protecting employees from getting trapped at a job through the threat of certain monetary penalties.

Aug. 21, 2025- New York City mayors have had control over the school districts in the five boroughs for more than two decades, but could a system work in other communities? We try to answer that question with Maxwell Herrera, a policy analyst for the Rockefeller Institute of Government, and Brian Backstrom, director of education policy studies for the Rockefeller Institute of Government.

Aug. 20, 2025- New York lawmakers are trying again to limit the footprint of for-profit hospice businesses, approving legislation prohibiting existing operators from expanding or new players from entering the Empire State. We discuss the proposal and the low-rate of hospice services in New York with Jeanne Chirico, CEO of the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York State.

Aug. 20, 2025- We explore the state of gun violence in New York and the prevention efforts being championed by Gov. Kathy Hochul with New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services Executive Deputy Commissioner Joe Popcun and Albany Police Chief Brendan Cox.

Aug. 19, 2025- Assemblyman Harvey Epstein, a Manhattan Democrat, makes the case for legislation that limits what landlords can charge renters for a bounced check.

Aug. 19, 2025- The latest federal review of hospital metrics from around the country found that New York continues to trail almost every other state. We discuss the findings and how they should be used with Bill Hammond, a senior fellow at The Empire Center for Public Policy.

Aug. 18, 2025- We talk about efforts to promote traffic safety in the Empire State, including using cameras, lowering speed limits, and training drug recognition experts, with Mary Tanner Ritcher, deputy commissioner for traffic safety and investigations for the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles.

Aug. 18, 2025 - Rensselaer County District Attorney Mary Pat Donnelly, a Democrat, discusses changes to New York's evidence disclosure laws that took effect this summer at the urging of local prosecutors and Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Aug. 15, 2025- State lawmakers approved a handful of new health insurance mandates this year, including bills dealing with inhalers and speech therapy, but insurers say these well-intentioned efforts won't result in lower costs. New York Health Plan Association President & CEO Eric Linzer explains how insurers determine what they cover and argues that policymakers should focus on the underlying cost of treatments.

Aug. 15, 2025- The state budget included an additional $400 million to ensure access to child care vouchers, but the increased investment isn't necessarily trickling down to families who need help, according to reporting by New York Focus reporter Julia Rock.

Aug. 14, 2025- In a Dispatches from Planet Albany excerpt we hear from Assemblyman Micah Lasher, a Manhattan Democrat, who makes the case for increasing New York's Democrats in Congress by tweaking the congressional boundaries before the next census.

Aug. 14, 2025- In a Dispatches from Planet Albany excerpt we check in with Blair Horner, senior policy advisor for the New York Public Interest Research Group, to get his take on efforts to do mid-decade redistricting and consider whether good government groups are losing influence in Albany.

Aug. 14, 2025- A new Siena Research Institute survey of New Yorkers explored the possibility of changing New York's redistricting process, responding to federal spending cuts, and a gubernatorial matchup between Gov. Kathy Hochul and Rep. Elise Stefanik. We break down the results with Siena pollster Steve Greenberg.

Aug. 14, 2025- The Hochul administration is in the process of crafting a plan to guide the conservation of endangered species and habitats for the next decade. We unpack the significance of this plan and what might be missing with Chris Amato, conservation director and counsel for Protect the Adirondacks.

Aug. 12, 2025 - Artificial intelligence is invading New York's political campaigns this year and the burgeoning technology could be even more prevalent in the future, according to Annie McDonough, a senior reporter for City & State New York. This is an excerpt of Dispatches from Planet Albany.

Aug. 12, 2025 - For more than a decade, New York lawmakers have tried to secure a compensation boost for home care workers in the New York City area, but those efforts haven't always resulted in more money in pockets, according to reporting by Sam Mellins, a senior reporter for New York Focus.

Aug. 12, 2025 - New Yorkers prescribed expensive, name-brand drugs may have to try cheaper alternatives before they get what the doctor ordered, as the result of insurance practices. We discuss how this process could be more transparent and have stricter rules with Ashira Vantrees, director of legal strategy and advocacy at Aimed Alliance.

August 11, 2025- New York Attorney General Letitia James is recommending the state narrowly restrict when police can engage in high-speed pursuits. We discuss the risk of police chases with Josh Parker, deputy director of policy for The Policing Project at NYU School of Law.

August 11, 2025- New York is fighting back against federal efforts to access state immigration information and interfere at state courthouses, citing the "sovereign rights" of the state. We explore this argument and its history with Sarah Rogerson, director of the Edward P. Swyer Justice Center at Albany Law School.

August 11, 2025- In light of an endangered sea turtle being released back into the wild this summer, we check in with Rob DiGiovanni Jr., founder and chief scientist for the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, to learn about his organization and the state's role in promoting their work.

August 8, 2025- State Sen. Jake Ashby, a Capital Region Republican who did combat tours overseas with the Army Reserves, talks about increasing services for Purple Heart awardees and reflects on the Trump administration's handling of U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs.

August 8, 2025- We go through the agenda items in Albany for New York's nearly 500,000 public sector retirees with Tom Tatun, the recently anointed executive director for the Retired Public Employees Association.

August 8, 2025- Gov. Kathy Hochul is promising affordable and reliable energy from new nuclear power plants, but how achievable is her vision? We get a contrarian take from John Howard, the former head of the New York Public Service Commission.

August 7, 2025- The state's "All-Electric Buildings" mandate will begin to be phased in next year and, while environmental advocates are welcoming the change, the construction industry is continuing to warn about unintended consequences. We discuss the transition with Mike Fazio, executive director of the New York State Builders Association.

August 7, 2025- In the wake of Gov. Kathy Hochul pushing to make it easier for New Yorkers to be involuntarily committed, President Donald Trump issued an executive order designed to promote more forced psychiatric institution of the country's homeless population. We unpack the significance of the action at the federal level, which could also hurt undermine harm reduction efforts in New York, with Patrick Wildes, director of the Government Law Center at Albany Law.

August 7, 2025- Starting in August, the more than 30,000 people incarcerated in New York don't have to pay to make outgoing phone calls. We unpack this policy decision from the Hochul administration, including how it could benefit society, with Bianca Tylek, founder and executive director of Worth Rises.

August 6, 2025- More than 100 marijuana dispensary owners are grappling with the revelation that their approved locations are in violation of a state law as the result of a measuring mix up by the Hochul administration. We consider possible remedies to this situation with Joe Rossi, founder of Modern Advocacy and a cannabis lobbyist, and Joseph Levey, founding partner of Helbraun Levey, a law firm focused on cannabis and hospitality.

August 6, 2025- As we continue to unpack the ramifications of the Big Beautiful Bill adopted by Republicans in Washington D.C., we're turning our attention to what it means for community health centers that serve low-income New Yorkers in medical deserts. Our guest is Rose Duhan, president and CEO of the Community Healthcare Association of New York State.

Aug. 5, 2025 - Shontell Smith, the former political director for Andrew Cuomo's unsuccessful mayoral primary bid in New York City, reflects on what went right and what went wrong during this Dispatches from Planet Albany excerpt.

August 5, 2025- School districts have been encouraged by the state to find regional partnerships that might save money and improve operations. We consider what regionalization has looked like in the past and how it could happen in the future with Anita Murphy, a retired superintendent from the Capital Region BOCES, and Brian Backstrom, director of Education Policy Studies at the Rockefeller Institute of Government.

August 5, 2025- New Yorkers will get a chance this fall to bring the expansion and operation of the Mount Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports complex in compliance with the state Constitution, while also expanding the footprint of the Adirondack preserve. We hear the case for the constitutional referendum from John Sheehan, director of communication for the Adirondack Council.