The Capitol Pressroom

March 13, 2026- State Senate Education Committee Chair Shelley Mayer, a Westchester County Democrat, discusses funding for schools, access to pre-k, immigration reform, and the future of the Senate Democratic leadership.

March 13, 2026- Mental Health Association in New York State CEO Glenn Liebman makes the case for investing in a statewide expansion of teen mental health first aid training.

March 13, 2026- We sit down with Zoe Jacobs, who is tasked with leading Gov. Kathy Hochul's effort to cut red tape in state government. The campaign is currently soliciting input from the public.

March 13, 2026- We get to know Eleonore Fournier-Tombs, the state's chief AI officer. We discuss her background, coordinating with state agencies and opportunities to use artificial intelligence.

March 12, 2026- New York State Secretary of State Walter T. Mosley highlights common consumer complaints received by his department's division of consumer protection and identifies steps being taken to address bad actors.

March 12, 2026- State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, a Brooklyn Democrat, shares insights from a recent hearing he led on white-collar crime in New York and offers up potential policy responses. He also foreshadows a deeper investigation into student loan services.

March 12, 2026- State Sen. James Skoufis, an Orange County Democrat, talks about chronic absenteeism, which has become a big problem following the pandemic, and lays out a legislative response.

March 11, 2026- We talk about regulating utilities, providing energy relief to ratepayers and the future of New York's statutory emission reduction goals with Brian Welsch, a vice president at National Fuel, a gas-only utility serving western New York.

March 11, 2026- A 2022 state law designed to prevent the dilution of racial and ethnic minorities in election districts is starting to have real consequences, as municipalities are changing their approach to elections as the result of lawsuits. We talk about the underlying law and the changes its bringing with David Imamura, an attorney promoting the implementation of the measure.

March 11, 2026 - Capitol Confidential author Dan Clark assesses some of the budget priorities of the legislative majorities, including their commitment to raising taxes.

March 10, 2026- A board controlling funds for civil legal services is being undermined by Gov. Kathy Hochul. We discuss the holdup and what it could mean for low-income families with Kristin Brown, president and CEO of the Empire Justice Center.

March 10, 2026- We dive into Gov. Kathy Hochul's plan to address car insurance costs, including utilizing the state's excess profit law, with the help of Kaitlin Asrow, acting superintendent for the state Department of Financial Services.

March 10, 2026- New York Charter Schools Association CEO Anna Hall provides an explainer on the role public charter schools play in the Empire State and makes the case for updating how the state funds their operations.

March 9, 2026- We learn about the role community schools play in integrating a variety of services into academic settings. Our guest is Kelly Sperduto, director community schools for the Greece Central School District.

March 9, 2026- The acting head of the state Office of Cannabis Management, John Kagia, talks about his short-term goals and addresses the new seed-to-sale tracking system and the struggling medical marijuana landscape.

March 9, 2026- We chat about the lack of wheelchair accessible rides provided by services like Uber and Lyft. Our guests are Justin Wood and Eman Rimawi-Doster, from New York Lawyers for the Public Interest.

March 6, 2026 - Agudath Israel of America Director of New York Government Relations Yeruchim Silber speaks out against efforts to change how parents of kids with disabilities in private school access special services.

March 6, 2026 - We examine the Hochul administration's effort to regulate the "buy now, pay later" industry with Winston Berkman-Breen, legal director at Protect Borrowers.

March 6, 2026 - Assembly Energy Committee Chair Didi Barrett, a Hudson Valley Democrat and Assemblymember John McDonald, a Capital Region Democrat, share a plan for lowering energy costs and consider whether the state's emission goals need to be relaxed.

March 5, 2026- Senate Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee Chair Julia Salazar, a Brooklyn Democrat, talks about the prison landscape a year after an illegal strike rocked the system and continues to have ramifications for people living and working in correction facilities.

March 5, 2026- Assemblymember Emérita Torres, a Bronx Democrat, makes the case for prohibiting companies from setting online prices based on a shopper's personal data and wants to require disclosure for other forms of automated pricing.

March 5, 2026 - New York State United Teachers President Melinda Person and United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew makes the case for sweetening retirement benefits for teachers in order to address recruitment and retention challenges at schools.

March 4, 2026- Adirondack Explorer reporter Gwen Craig explains how the state made it difficult for a nonprofit in the Adirondacks to utilize a grant for a land purchase and four years later they're looking to unload the property as a result.

March 4, 2026- We consider what the governor's budget does (and doesn't do) to address food insecurity with the help of Natasha Pernicka, executive director of The Alliance for a Hunger Free New York. We also consider the fallout from federal changes to SNAP eligibility.

March 4, 2026- We talk about tariff ambiguity, emissions restrictions and energy demands with Randy Wolken, president and CEO of MACNY, the Manufacturers Association.

March 3, 2026- Gov. Kathy Hochul's budget proposal slashes state support for programs and resources designed to help New Yorkers with disabilities remain independent. We discuss the proposed budget cuts and accessible transportation with Tyler Whitney, president and CEO of Southern Adirondack Independent Living, and Lindsay Miller, executive director for New York Association on Independent Living.

March 3, 2026- The state's volunteer firefighter numbers are about two-thirds of what they were two decades ago, so we talked with Firefighters Association of the State of New York Secretary John D'Alessandro about ideas to boost those numbers.

March 2, 2026- New York policymakers have until the end of the year to enroll in a federal tax credit program incentivizing contributions to scholarship-giving organizations. We consider this proposal, which is being championed by private schools, with Dennis Poust, executive director of the New York State Catholic Conference.

Feb. 27, 2026- State Senate Transportation Committee Chair Jeremy Cooney, a Rochester-area Democrat, laments the governor abandoning an expansion of for-hire autonomous vehicles and calls for a new car registration fee to fund public transit.

Feb. 27, 2026- We consider the implications of changing a Medicaid payout to emergency medical service providers with Thomas Coyle, president of Monroe Ambulance transportation and chair of the United New York Ambulance Network, and Bryan Brauner, CEO of Twin City Ambulance.

Feb. 27, 2026- Assembly Children and Families Committee Chair Andrew Hevesi, a Queens Democrat, talks about investing in child care workers, addressing foster care liability costs, looking out for young people in juvenile detention, and support for domestic violence services.

Feb. 27, 2026 - State Senate Environmental Conservation Committee Chair Pete Harckham, a Westchester County Democrat, argues against curtailing the state's green energy and emissions goals adopted as part of the Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act. Gov. Kathy Hochul is making the case that the law is driving up costs and needs to be amended.

Feb. 26, 2026- Assemblymember Robert Carroll, a Brooklyn Democrat, lays out his pitch for New York to host a future winter Olympics, with Lake Placid and New York City hosting various games.

Feb. 26, 2026- SUNY Chancellor John King discusses the campus upkeep funding needs at public colleges and universities, the expansion of free community college for adults, and holding the line on SUNY tuition.

Feb. 26, 2026- Miguel Velázquez, CEO of Regional Transit Service and president of New York Public Transit Association, makes the case for a recurring $25 charge on drivers to fund public transit systems outside of New York City, which are in need of dedicated operating funds to improve services.

Feb. 26, 2026- We explore some of the health care proposals in the governor's budget and consider how the state might spend unanticipated federal dollars. Our guest is Paul Francis, chair of the Step Two Policy Project.

Feb. 25, 2026- State Office of Addiction Services and Supports Commissioner Dr. Chinazo Cunningham addresses marijuana and sports gambling addictions, explains how the state wants to treat New Yorkers with co-occurring disorders, and responds to concerns about the speed of spending funds secured from opioid manufacturers and distributors.

Feb. 25, 2026- A report from the New York Independent System Operator explored what is driving the cost of wholesale electricity prices in New York. We discussed what they found and what it means for ratepayers with Kevin Lanahan, senior vice president for corporate communications and external affairs for the organization.

Feb. 24, 2026- New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli shares his concerns about the governor's budget proposal, including long-term deficits and restrictions on his oversight.

Feb. 24, 2026- New York State Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon joins the show to talk about cutting red tape, spending on child care subsidies, and expanding an AI tool on the department's website.

Feb. 24, 2026- The governor's budget creates new penalties and higher registration fees for lobbyists, but that revenue isn't going to the New York's ethics watchdog, which is facing a funding cut. We discuss these proposals with Sandy Berland, executive director of the state Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government.

Feb. 24, 2026- We try to make sense of the fallout from the Trump administration rolling back federal rules and regulations on greenhouse gas emissions. Our guest is Julie Tighe, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters, who also talks about state regulations governing expanded wetland maps.

Feb. 23, 2026- New York State Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare Executive Director Lauri Cole talks about prompt payments for her members, curtailing the role of insurance companies, and cutting red tape.

Feb. 23, 2026- We highlight the consumer protections available to New Yorkers who pay for a tax preparer. Our guest is Sara Carlson, director of community engagement for the State Department of Taxation and Finance.

Feb. 23, 2026- New York State Office for the Aging Director Greg Olsen talks about what the governor's budget proposal means for seniors, including funding to implement the master plan on aging and ensure oversight of long-term care facilities.

Feb. 23, 2026- We dive into the opaque and inconsistent world of discipline by the state police. Our guest is Sammy Sussman, an investigative journalist, who examined a decade's worth of records to shine a light on this important issue.

Feb. 20, 2026- Despite pledges of increased transparency by Gov. Kathy Hochul, a new report from Reinvent Albany found that executive agencies have a lot of room for improvement in responding to records requests under the Freedom of Information Law. We discuss the findings and the opaque state senate confirmation voting process with Rachael Fauss, a senior policy advisor for the good government group.

Feb. 20, 2026- Kevin Bolan, a physician assistant practicing in the Adirondacks and legislative chair for the New York State Society of PAs, makes the case for the governor's plan to let physician assistants work with less oversight.

Feb. 20, 2026 - After years of adding to a patchwork system of licensed financial services, state lawmakers took steps in 2025 to ensure New York's financial regulators have tools to go after unlicensed operators. We discuss this landscape and how it evolved with Winston Berkman-Breen, legal director at Protect Borrowers.

Feb. 20, 2026 - In this excerpt from Dispatches from Planet Albany, New York Working Families Party Director Jasmine Gripper explains why the liberal third party did not back a primary challenge to Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Feb. 19, 2026- Gov. Kathy Hochul is proposing to eliminate $230,000 in state funds for programs that help vulnerable New Yorkers living in adult homes advocate for better living conditions. We talked with representatives from the Coalition of Institutionalized Aged and Disabled and the Alliance for Rights and Recovery, plus peer advocate and former adult home resident Deborah Hunter.