State lawmakers return to Albany Wednesday for the first day of the legislative session. Democrats held their sizable Assembly majority and seized control of the Senate in November’s elections. Now, third-term Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo says New Yorkers can expect action on a variety of progressive causes.
“The only items I have not gotten done are the items I could not get done because of the Republican Senate,” Cuomo said on WAMC. “They have been an obstacle to me.”
Governor Cuomo’s budget plan is due by February 1, and the new fiscal year starts April 1.
Lawmakers’ last scheduled day in Albany is June 19. One person missing from the start of the session is Senate Republican Leader John Flanagan, who is being treated for alcohol dependence.