Politics and Government

With just three weeks and one day to go before a state budget deadline, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders met to assess how far they have to go to reach a deal.

With the federal budget sequestration deadline only days away, Syracuse-area Cong. Dan Maffei opened the phone lines for a telephone town hall meeting Tuesday night.  Callers were concerned about the how these funding cuts will impact central New York if sequestration goes into effect March 1.

New York State lawmakers are set to return to the Capitol Wednesday following a two-week break for the President’s Day holiday.  Lawmakers have plenty to work on in the next few weeks leading up to the start of the state’s fiscal year, including whether to pass a minimum wage hike as part of the state budget.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is one of the sponsors of a bill to ban fracking in New York state at least until May of next year.

A leading budget watchdog group is urging rejection of a key component of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget plan. It would allow cities and schools to put off some payments to their pension funds.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo made several changes to his budget plan in what are called 30-day amendments. These amendments range from imposing a teacher evaluation plan on schools in New York City, to cutting the cost of hunting licenses.

During his visit to western New York on Thursday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo reacted to the backlash by Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs) against his executive budget proposal that would remove their powers to grant state sales tax exemptions.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he will make several changes to his budget using 30 day amendments, including imposing a teacher evaluation plan on New York City, and cutting the cost of hunting licenses.

The New York Thruway Authority's decision to layoff 234 staff as part of a strategy to address its financial predicament includes the loss of 42 canal workers who maintain 57 locks along the 524-mile length of the Erie Canal that connects the Hudson River to Lake Erie in the west.

Working in the key battleground state of Ohio, Ashley Bryant was an integral player in President Obama’s internet-based mobilization effort in the 2012 election.  In this edition of the Campbell Conversations, Bryant—the Ohio digital director for the President’s campaign—recounts her experiences on the ground and in the trenches, explains how the campaign integrated the Internet into its strategy, and reflects on how marketing a political brand is both similar to and different from marketing a commercial brand.

Oswego County is the latest local government to push for a repeal of New York state's new gun control laws. Both lawmakers and residents say they are hoping their voices make a difference in Albany.

On Tuesday, New York state officials announced another delay of their final decision on hydrofracking. The Department of Environmental Conservation will wait for a report on the health protections in its environmental review of fracking. Then the environmental review can be completed. The delay could be less than a month or it could be much longer. But one thing is clear - the delayed health review is now the key factor in deciding whether or not fracking will go ahead in New York.