Category: The Ithaca Voice

ITHACA, N.Y. — This week’s Capitol Watch is a few stories packed in one, as some big legislation moved forward, including a bill about labor requirements for farm workers with the Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act, partial marijuana decriminalization and a sweeping new set of goals for action on climate change. For the full story,…

ALBANY, N.Y. — The New York State Legislature is done for the year on Wednesday and legislators are pushing to pass progressive measures like driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants before time runs out. Last week they narrowly passed a bill to ban religious vaccine exemptions and sweeping new changes to rent and tenant laws. At…

ITHACA, N.Y. — The clock is ticking in Albany as lawmakers are in the last two weeks of the legislative session considering bills that would extend driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants, close religious exemptions on vaccines, set new climate and energy goals and legalize recreational marijuana. For the full story, click HERE

ITHACA, N.Y. — National political headlines were dominated by calls for impeachment, lost hopes of infrastructure week and subpoena filings last week, but lawmakers in Albany and Washington took on a range of issues before leaving town for a weeklong recess. The House passed a major bipartisan plan to help Americans save for retirement, a…

ALBANY, N.Y. — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand missed some votes in Washington last week while hitting the campaign trail, where she protested Georgia’s passage of anti-abortion laws. Rep. Tom Reed crossed party lines to support a Democratic initiative to expand civil rights laws to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination. Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton introduced a bill to…

ITHACA, N.Y. — Environmental legislation was on the agenda in both Washington and Albany last week with the recent Earth Day holiday. Democrats in the House passed a bill to try and keep the U.S. in the Paris Climate Accord while New York State Democrats passed a constitutional protection of clean water. Republicans in both…

ALBANY, N.Y. — Last week, the House passed its bill on net neutrality without the support of Rep. Tom Reed who claims the legislation gives too much control to federal regulators. In the New York Assembly, Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton voted to block a plan that would expand access to free college tuition for children of veterans…

ALBANY, N.Y. — Early Monday, lawmakers signed off on the 2019-20 fiscal year budget setting a deluge of Democratic-leaning legislative deals like additional funding for education and a permanent cap on property taxes. The budget was considered “on time” by the State Comptroller meaning legislators will get an additional bonus to their pay this year, but they’re…