Politics and Government

Nine more names of state Senators and others potentially involved in corruption were made public Wednesday, when a judge ordered prosecutors in the case of convicted former Sen. Shirley Huntley to make public the names of her colleagues that she secretly recorded.

Supporters of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's 10-point Women's Equality Act are ramping up efforts to get support for the proposed legislation. The  Women's Equality Coalition just launched a statewide television ad to raise awareness about the agenda, and supporters in one small central New York County are also raising their voices.

A hearing by state Senate Republicans on New York City’s public campaign financing system was overshadowed by protests, as government reform groups and other members of the public were denied entry, and noisy protests ensued.

Former Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson turned himself in to federal authorities Monday, after being accused in a nine-count indictment of embezzling nearly half a million dollars from mortgage foreclosure accounts, and then trying to cover it up.

Juvenile records are automatically sealed in New York state, so they don't prejudice a prosecutor or judge, but state Sen. John DeFrancisco is proposing an exception. He wants those records be available to court officials if they involve sex crimes.

The leader of the New York State Senate Republicans says he regrets the way gun control legislation was rapidly approved earlier this year, and he hopes what he now says was a mistake won't be repeated at the end of the session.

Republicans in the New York State Senate plan to hold hearings Tuesday, May 7, on what they say are abuses in New York City’s public campaign finance system. 

While universal background checks for gun buyers proved to be a death knell in the latest attempt to pass gun control legislation in the U.S. Senate, Sen. Charles Schumer is hoping a tightening up of current background checks is on the horizon.

The state’s attorney general and Assembly speaker have proposed an early voting system for New York that they say can improve voter participation and democracy.

Younger citizens may be more active in volunteer and service efforts than previous generations, but many remain profoundly uninterested and disengaged from anything they regard as political. One organization trying to combat that is ICivics, created by former Justice Sandra Day O'Conner, to provide online, interactive educational resources for middle school students. On this edition of the Campbell Conversations, Gene Koo, executive director of ICivics, outlines the challenges to civic engagement and how the organization is trying to address them.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he hopes to soon create a statewide board to help fiscally strapped local governments restructure.

Opponents of hydrofracking are charging there’s a potential conflict of interest with a consultant to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s environmental agency. They are asking that the years-long review of fracking in New York state be restarted. The controversy caused the consultant in question to sever all ties with a gas industry lobby group.