The New York state legislature has adjourned its regular 2023 session. Representatives from the North Country are characterizing the six-month period as frustrating overall.
“I think it was a frustrating budget season.”
Assemblyman Democrat D. Billy Jones represents the 115th District. He says because the $229 billion state budget was a month late, work on other items was delayed.
“It’s been a frustrating session overall. Able to get a few things accomplished. The landmark legislation that I authored with the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and the land claims dispute with Franklin and St. Lawrence Counties and New York state. I was able to get the Death Gamble legislation passed. It allows corrections officers that they can have their beneficiary get their retirement benefits in an untimely death. So that was good. But, you know, it was a lot of frustration. And you know I called it the session that never ends basically because we are being called back in the next week or two.”
In the neighboring 114th District, Republican Matt Simpson echoed that sentiment.
“This year’s session was complicated by the budget process, which was over 30 days late. So that definitely affected the legislative part of our session and moving bills forward. There were significantly less committees this year and discussions around legislation. But we did have some committees. And ultimately I mean this isn’t the end of session. We actually have got to come back. But the budget process had an impact on everything that we completed this year or didn’t complete.”
Despite his frustrations, Jones says some legislation was passed during the session that will help his district.
“Like I mentioned the Death Gamble bill. We’re finally getting somewhere on the Mount Van Hoevenberg, although with a constitutional amendment we have to get that through next session. And we did get a lot of funding in the budget for a lot of the organizations and municipalities that need money for everything from wastewater to recreational opportunities. So, I mean, there were some good things.”
Simpson, on the other hand, says it’s hard to pinpoint broad-ranging bills that he classifies as “positive.”
“There were a lot of local bills, a lot of bills that will improve situations within our schools and with recruiting and retention of teachers. But I think on the negative side, you know the reparations bill I voted no simply because we did not have representation from the minority on this commission. There’s still a lot of partisanship, a lot of partisan issues, a lot of partisan playmanship, gamesmanship for lack of a better word, and it’s unfortunate.”.
Simpson says as the session moved toward closure, many bills were rushed, giving rank-and-file lawmakers little time to review them.
“This past week there were hundreds of bills that did not go through the normal committee process. They went to either Codes, Rules or Ways and Means and then directly to the floor. There were committee meetings being called right off of the floor during the end of session. So there isn’t a lot of time to vet these. We do as much as possible when we’re notified of these bills, but in a time constrained period such as the end of session things get rushed. And it’s reflective in the following year because the first thing that we’ll do when we come back are hundreds of chapter amendments to fix legislation that should have been corrected before it even came to the floor for a vote.”
The New York Senate has also adjourned. The Assembly is expected to be called back into session within the next two weeks.
