Politics and Government

Even though state lawmakers announced a budget agreement Wednesday, they spent the day Thursday trying to pin down details and print the bills in time to be through over the weekend.

The speaker of the New York State Assembly says a portion of New York’s gun control laws, scheduled to take effect April 15, may be postponed while talks continue on how to amend the provision.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders agreed to a framework for a new state budget Wednesday evening, but say they are still working out many of the details.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo confirms that he and legislative leaders are talking about changing the state’s newly enacted gun laws to rescind a ban on the sale of 10 bullet magazines.

There could be changes coming to the human services agencies and departments in Onondaga County government.  County Executive Joanie Mahoney says there's a two-fold reason for a proposed realignment.

The New York state budget is crawling to a conclusion, as legislative leaders and Gov. Andrew Cuomo continue closed door meetings to try to strike a final deal.

The governor and legislative leaders are talking about amendments to the state’s new gun control laws. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver raised the possibility that a ban on 10 bullet magazines might be reversed, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo says that’s not the case.

A new poll finds Gov. Andrew Cuomo is paying a political price with Republicans in New York for enacting some of the nation's strictest gun control laws, which were also the first after the Newtown, Conn. school shooting.

New York state lawmakers are close to agreeing on a new spending plan that would include a deal to raise taxes on the wealthy and raise the minimum wage.  They failed to seal a pact Monday night, but say they will be back Tuesday morning to try again.

The Syracuse Common Council has temporarily pulled the "Ban the Box" legislation in order to conduct more public outreach and rework the legislation.

No state spends more on Medicaid than New York, earning it the nickname of the Cadillac of Medicaid programs. But that may soon end. One of the reasons the state spends $54 billion a years on the federal health care program for the poor, are 31 optional services that the state can sign on for -- ranging from transportation, to prescription drugs, to private nurses.

Starting this weekend, the mental health component of the New York Safe Act, the state's new gun control law, kicks in. It will require mental health care providers to notify law enforcement officials if they know of anyone who could be a danger to themselves or others. Law enforcement then compares names to gun registration databases, and if there's a match, confiscate guns or revokes a pistol permit. While many mental health professionals are say they are ready for the paperwork, they aren't convinced it will do any good.