Albany’s annual legislative session wrapped up a little before 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, when the New York state Assembly concluded a two-day return to town. The Democratic-dominated Legislature passed plenty of significant bills in recent weeks. But outside of the “Clean Slate Act” to seal more criminal records, June didn’t feature any big-ticket progressive victories that lead to celebrations in Capitol hallways — celebrations that occurred sometimes on a daily basis after Democrats assumed the majority in the state Senate in 2019. Throughout much of 2023, it felt like more energy was spent debating fixes to laws previously passed by Democrats than on new proposals. The annual fights over changing the 2019 laws on bail now regularly receive more focus during budget season than the $229 billion budget itself. Lawmakers have also spent time this year debating proposals to weaken nation-leading climate change legislation from 2019, roll back a campaign finance system they approved in 2020 and attempt to save a marijuana industry that has been flailing since they legalized the drug in 2021. Most of the big swings at the end of the session fell short. A push for a plan to provide health insurance to undocumented immigrants went nowhere in the Assembly on the final day. After rejecting a housing plan from Gov. Kathy Hochul in the budget, legislators declined to war with the governor by forcing her to veto their own plan. Some of the lack of big action is due to members being burnt out. The pandemic and Hochul’s 2021 inauguration after Andrew Cuomo’s resignation means there hasn’t been much downtime in state politics in nearly four years. And as Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie noted in a recent public appearance, this year’s month-late budget “condensed our ability to talk” on other issues. But rapid-fire action on big issues has also slowed because of the simple fact that Democrats already passed most of their long-simmering priorities in recent years. Most of what's left is more complicated. And with Republicans proving a bigger threat last November than progressive primary challengers were, some moderates are less willing to take risks on these proposals. “They’ve gotten really gun-shy on a lot of stuff, including criminal justice matters, but certainly I am just disgusted at both of the leaders for throwing in the towel on housing,” tenant advocate Mike McKee said shortly after housing talks fell apart. It’s unlikely that gun shyness will disappear when lawmakers come back to Albany in an election year next January. And with a potentially massive budget deficit on the horizon — which might force Democrats to bicker over spending cuts for the first time since they took the majority — the odds of a 2024 session where seismic progressive accomplishments return to being a weekly feature in Albany might not be terribly great. IT’S THURSDAY. WHERE’S KATHY? No public events scheduled. WHERE’S ERIC? Holding a public hearing for a bill to establish an office of healthcare accountability, hosting a Haitian clergy roundtable, delivering remarks at flag-raising ceremony for Juneteenth and hosting a LGBTQ+ Pride reception. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Unfortunately, and this is a reality, I get most of my information from Room 9 these days, and that shouldn’t be the way that we govern.” NYC Council Member Diana Ayala on the lack of communication between the mayor and the city council.
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