N.Y. lawmakers headed back to Albany for start of 2024 legislative session

Lawmakers across the Empire State are due back in the legislative chambers this week for the start of the session, where a range of topics — including housing production and mayoral control— are expected to dominate the agenda in the first half of 2024.

Members from the Assembly and Senate will once again start the people’s work Jan. 3 for the first day of the six-month legislative session. According to the state Legislature’s official calendar, members are expected to convene 61 times from Jan. 3 through June 6. The first half of the session involves hammering out a state budget that New York City pays close attention to since it receives a good portion of it from Albany lawmakers. The current state budget stands at $229 billion and includes funding to help the city manage the migrant crisis.

Then there are so-called “non-fiscal” amendments, contentious measures that are slipped into the budget to force a vote. Last year, that involved Gov. Hochul inserting changes to the state’s bail laws to allow judges greater latitude in determining whether bail is the best tool to compel a defendant back to court.

Perhaps the more pressing issue of the session will be housing production. Hochul last year was unsuccessful in gaining traction for her ambitious housing plan that sought commitments from municipalities to build a certain percentage of units in hamlets outside New York City. Top officials in these suburban localities raged over the proposed mandate, resulting in Hochul reportedly dropping it in her updated proposal.

Lawmakers are also expected to answer whether Mayor Adams deserves to control the New York City public school system. Adams was granted a two-year extension, authorizing him to set educational policy across the schools. But it came with several caveats, mainly a mandate to reduce class sizes.