State lawmakers wrapped up the legislative session in mid-June.All in all, during the 2025 legislative session, 856 bills passed both houses.Those bills have been (or will soon be) sent to the governor for her consideration – approval or veto.
The session highlighted an interesting recent trend in legislative activity:The Senate passed a lot more bills than the Assembly, even though they have far fewer members.The Senate approved 1,743 bills, while the Assembly approved just under 1,000 (995).This gap is consistent with previous sessions of the past decade.
After passing both houses, the ball moves into the governor’s court.So far, she has approved 640 bills and vetoed 92.That is consistent with her record.During the 2024 session, she approved 679 bills and vetoed 127; in the 2023 session, she approved 774 bills and vetoed 117.
There are 122 bills (as of this past Sunday) still on her desk and they must be acted upon this week.That leaves two more once she’s done with the latest batch.
Of the 122 bills, there is one that impacts energy costs.If approved by the governor, this bill would eliminate the current ratepayer-funded subsidies for the connection of new gas utility customers whose buildings are located within 100 feet of the gas distribution line.Yup, you heard that right: Currently you are paying the costs for hooking up people to gas mains – not the homeowner.
It’s been estimated that those “free” hook-ups cost ratepayers over $200 million added to their current expenses.The legislation repeals that subsidy, thus saving ratepayers money and putting the burden on gas hook ups where it belongs – on those who want it.
It’s not clear what the governor will do with that one, but consumers should keep their fingers crossed.
Once the governor acts on those 122 bills, the remaining two pieces of legislation are both controversial and consequential.
The first is a bill to expand the number of state judges in New York.The State Constitution authorizes the Legislature, once every ten years, to "increase or decrease the number of judicial districts or alter the composition of judicial districts and thereupon reapportion the justices to be thereafter elected in the judicial districts so altered."
The Legislature last exercised this authority in 2007, when it established the thirteenth judicial district in the New York City borough of Richmond, a/k/a Staten Island.The bill to be sent to the governor establishes judicial districts for the three largest urban centers of Erie (Buffalo), Monroe (Rochester), and Onondaga (Syracuse) counties, and it creates two judicial districts for that judicial region’s more rural counties.The aim of the legislation is to address an inequality in judicial representation.According to the sponsors, “the districts of the fourth judicial department combine urban centers with large rural communities …. [thus creating] a longstanding lack of diversity on the Western New York bench.”This bill is designed to remedy that inequality.
The second bill is one that many New Yorkers will have strong feelings about based on their beliefs, experiences, and circumstances.(This was a bill that my organization did not work on.)It is the “Medical Aid in Dying Act.”According to its supporters, the bill allows “terminally ill adults – those with irreversible and incurable illnesses or diseases – with a prognosis of six months or less to live, who have been found by two doctors to be mentally capable to make an informed decision to obtain a prescription that would put them to sleep and peacefully end their lives.”For those who want to know more, the Albany Law School’s Government Law Center has produced a plain-language explainer.
It has been reported that Governor Hochul would like to make some changes to the legislation.The legislative process in New York allows the governor to negotiate changes to bills before her and if the legislative leaders agree, the changes are then approved in a bill next session – in Albany jargon called a “chapter amendment.”If approved by the governor, the bill would make New York the 12th state in the country to legalize medical aid in dying.
We all know about the painful decisions we all too often must face.As the President of the New York State Bar Association commented “Many New Yorkers like me have borne witness to a loved one’s unrelenting agony as inevitable death nears and pain relief is elusive.It is a haunting memory that stays with you. Medical Aid In Dying is not the choice everyone would make, but it is an option everyone should have.”
We all know what approval of this legislation will mean.It is up to Governor Hochul if she will allow New Yorkers facing an excruciating end-of-life to have the choice to end it sooner.This is one choice we all should have.
Blair Horner is senior policy advisor with the New York Public Interest Research Group.
The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.
