State budget passes, bail reform rolled back

April 2 ALBANY — After days of deliberations, lawmakers passed the state’s executive budget Thursday, including rollbacks to New York’s controversial bail reform law, about a day after the April 1 deadline. The initial $178 billion executive budget, which started with a $6 billion gap, is

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PROTESTERS RALLY IN ALBANY TO OPPOSE BAIL REFORM ROLLBACK

Feb 26 – Advocates, formerly incarcerated people, and lawmakers warned against overhauling the New York law before it has a chance to prove itself. The battle over New York’s bail reform law, which eliminated cash bail for most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies, entered a combative new

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NY1: Assembly Members Told to Stay Quiet on Bail Reform

Sources tell NY1 that Democratic Assembly Members who have been critics of the new bail reform law have been told not to speak up. That’s because Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, has been publicly defending the changes. While Governor Cuomo and State Senate leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins have both

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Adirondack: Have a brew, support higher education

Jan 3, 2020 – Just think: Every time you crack open a cold one, you could be supporting higher education in New York a little bit more. That’s the idea behind one New York City assemblyman’s bill to raise the state’s tax on beer — to double it, in fact — and to dedicate those funds […]

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Post-Journal: Bill Would Require Access To Medication

Debate is likely to be heavy on state Assembly legislation to mandate availability of medication for abortion at State University of New York health centers. Assemblyman Harvey Epstein, D-New York City, has proposed A.8743 to amend state law to require the State University of New York to

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Real Deal: Evictions down in wake of New York rent law

Since the state legislature took a hacksaw to New York’s rent law in June, New York City has seen a precipitous decline in eviction proceedings. Evictions filed against tenants for nonpayment fell by more than 35,000, or 46 percent, following the law’s enactment in June, compared with the same

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Times: A Sad Last Gasp Against Criminal Justice Reform

Nov. 17, 2019 – Prosecutors and police should honor the will of the voters and implement long-overdue changes. By The Editorial Board Across the country, a movement away from incarceration has been a rare point of consensus among Americans who can agree on little else. Yet talking about

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Census spending is a racial justice imperative

By ZELLNOR MYRIE | NOV 15, 2019 As a nation, we are just beginning to come to grips with this country’s greatest sin: the enslavement of black people. Sure, we’ve taught partial histories in our classrooms, erected statues in honor of civil rights heroes, and even passed meaningful legislation

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Times: Don’t Let Party Hacks Hijack Election Reform

Nov. 7, 2019 – A nine-member commission is poised to squander a chance at needed changes. In the coming weeks, New York could adopt a strong system of public financing of elections and help bring good government to Albany. Or it could set up an incumbent-protection racket. Guess which way

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Times Union: Prisons need correction

Oct 30, 2019 – Maybe New York’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision has been working with dishonest people for so long it’s lost sight of what the truth is. Clearly, something is amiss when DOCCS promises to reduce solitary confinement but instead turns out to

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