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The New York HEAT Act  might not make the final budget. The bill reduces the state's reliance on natural gas and cuts ratepayer costs by eliminating certain rules. It was in both legislative chambers' one-house budgets, but last-minute scrambling could remove it. New York League of Conservation Voters Policy Director Patrick McClellan said, aside from people's preference for natural ga...

Today is  National Healthcare Decisions Day , and New Yorkers have reason to start early planning. A new report cites rates of Alzheimer's disease growing among the state's 65+ population, with a projected  460,000 older New Yorkers  being diagnosed with Alzheimer's by 2025. Corinne Carey, senior New York campaign director for Compassion & Choices, feels the best first step for hea...

New York restaurant workers need to know their rights to better navigate their workplaces.  A new report  finds high rates of what it calls "occupational segregation" in the restaurant industry, which can relegate some people to lower-paying jobs. Workers' rights organizations are counteracting this with training programs. Alima Iskakova, a server for Exquisite Staffing, a catering c...

As federal agencies crack down on "junk fees." experts feel they can learn a thing or two from New York. The state is one of 13 to pass facility fee reforms, which are growing as more hospital systems merge with independent physicians. The fees can vary in price and are used to help hospital systems maintain various clinics. New York passed a bill requiring hospitals to  disclose them  t...

Of New York's many outdated laws, the  adultery law  could go this year. A bill  repealing the 1907 New York adultery law passed the Assembly and is now in the Senate. Adultery is a misdemeanor crime carrying a penalty of up to 90 days in jail. The repeal's current sponsor is Long Island Assemblymember Charles Lavine, D-Glen Cove. The repeal bill has wide support, but Lavine noted there&#3...

A new report finds  New Yorkers are getting the most out of their tax filings , thanks to a new resource. The Internal Revenue Service's  free, online Direct File Tool  walks people through an interview to help filers claim tax breaks they're eligible for. One goal of this tool is to close what's known as the "tax credit uptake gap." Liza Schwartzwald, director of economic ju...

A new report shows the costs different regions of New York face from climate change. It says taxpayers were on the hook for  more than $2 billion - or $300 per household  - in climate costs last year. In 2023, New York City faced $309 million in climate change-related costs, the highest in the state. Long Island was second at $276 million and continues seeing impacts from intense storms. Cate Roge...

New York transportation safety officers will see improved working conditions thanks to  a newly ratified contract . The new  American Federation of Government Employees and the Transportation Safety Administration agreement  creates an engaging workplace for employees. Some points in the agreement include a new grievance and arbitration process to resolve cases quicker and better leave conditions....

It's called the  RAPID Act , for "Renewable Action through Project Interconnection and Deployment," and backers have said it would make clean-energy projects' permitting and interconnection processes more efficient. As states prepare their power grids for the renewable energy boom, many grid operators need to catch up, according to  a new report .

Senior and older adult advocates in New York are pointing to certain health care plans to help people get the best bang for their buck. Dual-use special-needs plans  offer Medicare and Medicaid coverage together for eligible people, although the plans are designed for people who have low incomes, have certain medical conditions, and have  unique health care requirements . In New York,  42% of resi...

As New York housing advocates demand state lawmakers pass a bill to keep landlords from evicting renters without "good cause," a  new report  cautioned them about getting what they wish for.

A New York bill aims to regulate the fashion industry's effects on climate change. The  Fashion Act  would hold clothing and footwear companies accountable for their effects on the environment. Fashion accounts for up to  around 9%  of global greenhouse-gas emissions, more than the  aviation industry . The bill also creates a remediation fund for environmental, community or labor-related proje...

Today is Equal Pay Day, and a new report finds the wage gap between men and women is closing. The  Institute for Women's Policy Research data  show full-time working women made 84 cents for every dollar paid to men in 2022. Weekly earnings in 2023 were at almost 87 cents for full-time working women. For  all workers , New York ranks 14th with a pay-equity ratio of around 77 percent. Jamila K....

Senior and older-adult groups are frustrated by cuts to services in New York's  budget proposal . This includes cuts to home-care programs and the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program. It comes a year after Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the state's  Master Plan for Aging , a legislative framework to help New York seniors age in place. Rebecca Preve, executive director of the Association on Aging...

Gov. Kathy Hochul  has signed  new congressional maps  into law. The move comes a few days after Democrats in the legislature rejected maps drawn by the state's Independent Redistricting Commission. Lawmakers felt the commission's maps were too similar to 2022 maps, which heavily favored Republicans. Rejecting those maps sent the state back to square one after the New York Supreme Court  o...

Community health center leaders from New York and across the nation are meeting in Washington this week. They'll be strategizing about how to address the country's primary-care crisis. This means examining solutions to workforce shortages, inflationary costs and other issues. New York ranked sixth on a report's top ten listing of  states with high medically disenfranchised populations...

New York activists are voicing serious concerns about the state's  new congressional maps . The state's top court  ordered  new voting-district maps to be drawn by an independent commission last year, but critics of the new maps point out they are similar to 2022 maps, which favored Republican candidates. Groups have signed a letter demanding state lawmakers create new maps to prevent dist...

A  new report  outlined the need to preserve rural New York's affordable rental housing. The report from the Regional Plan Association report showed by 2027, hundreds of rural tenants will be displaced each year as a decades-old program ends. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's  Section 515 program  provided low-cost financing for developing affordable multifamily units. The properties bo...

New York disability rights advocates are working to break barriers in numerous  legislative areas , including those in transportation, housing, and employment. Another area of focus is voting and accessible polling places. A Brennan Center for Justice  report  finds almost all of New York's polling places aren't disability accessible - leaving them unable to accommodate a quarter of the st...

Community health center leaders from New York and across the nation are meeting in Washington this week. They'll be strategizing about how to address the country's primary-care crisis. This means examining solutions to workforce shortages, inflationary costs and other issues. New York ranked sixth on a report's top ten listing of  states with high medically disenfranchised populations...

New York's Legislature will take up several bills regarding forever chemicals. The bills would eliminate unnecessary  per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances  or PFAS in household items such as  cosmetics ,  menstrual products , and others. Legislation will also focus on removing PFAS from  waterways  as well. More than  3,400 New York waterways  including the Hudson River contain the chemicals. R...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is proposing a  rule on overdraft fees  that would benefit New Yorkers. The rule closes a loophole exempting overdraft fees from provisions in the Truth in Lending Act.

New York housing advocates feel the state is not taking the affordable housing crisis seriously. The recent  budget proposal  and  State of the State address  neglected to talk about reducing high rental costs and protecting tenants from unlawful eviction. A Rand Corporation report noted state policies haven't taken steps to address  systematic barriers  and cost drivers limiting housing produ...

The New York  HEAT Act  is again making its way through the state Legislature. The bill aims to phase out gas-line extension allowances and gives the Public Service Commission authority to keep utility companies in line with the state's climate laws. In previous years, the bill has gotten far, clearing the Senate chamber in 2023. Much of the bill is in Gov. Kathy Hochul's 2025 budget propo...

A proposed bill would help New York families struggling with the high cost of living. The  Working Families Tax Credit  bill combines the Empire State Child Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit and the dependent exemption into a single tax credit. A University of Washington report finds almost  two of five households  in New York cannot afford basic needs.