State

The chairs of the state legislative health committees are proposing a bill that would help protect the privacy of New Yorkers who give personal information to coronavirus contact tracers. They say without the protections, the contact tracing system -- aimed at curbing the virus and avoiding future shutdowns -- won’t work.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed several police reform measures into law Friday, while saying he’ll withhold state funding from local police departments that do not submit proof that they’ve worked with their communities to reconfigure their forces. 

There is a growing movement to defund the police, after the death of George Floyd and incidences of police brutality in the nationwide protests that came in the aftermath. New York leaders say they would rather restructure the forces than cut their budgets.

The New York State legislature Wednesday wrapped up passage of a package of bills on police reform, as the Senate Leader delivered a very personal speech on how systemic racism has affected her life.

The New York Assembly and Senate has approved the repeal of a measure that’s been used to shield police disciplinary records from the public, although opponents, including police unions and some Republican Senators, says it unfairly singles out officers for scrutiny that other public servants don’t face.

The New York State Legislature met in session at the state capital Monday to begin work on a package of bills aimed at reforming the police. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has promised to sign them. If approved, New York would be the first state to act on police reforms since the death of George Floyd, an African American man in Minneapolis during an incident with police two weeks ago.

For almost half a century, Section 50-A of a New York state law sealed personnel information about police officers, firefighters and corrections officers. Some of it is truly personal: home address, family information, even data about a police officer who might once have had substance problems. That information may become public Monday, with state legislators and Gov. Andrew Cuomo planning to repeal that legal provision of the Civil Service Law and open up information.

There were fewer incidences of looting of stores and other businesses around the state on Tuesday night, after three nights that left many stores damaged and empty of merchandise.  Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in his daily briefing Wednesday, also read from the Bible to make a point about President Donald Trump's controversial photo opportunity on Monday.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he’s outraged and disappointed over the continued looting of several stores that took place overnight in New York City, and he said that city’s mayor and police department did not do their jobs.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the mass protests in New York City and in upstate cities over the past few nights have been "counterproductive" to the cause of racial justice and may even reignite the spread of the coronavirus.

Many eligible voters for New York’s June 23 primary are receiving applications for absentee ballots in the mail, as the state tries to make it easier for people to avoid physically going to the polls during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, voting rights advocates say more needs to be done.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has issued an executive order that allows businesses to deny entry to customers who aren’t wearing a mask, saying it’s intended to improve public health and reduce fights.

New York state lawmakers returned to session this week with plans to vote on bills aimed at helping New Yorkers cope with all of the changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

A new poll finds most New Yorkers are comfortable with the pace of the reopening of the economy, even though many are taking a financial hit due to the shutdown.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday he believes New York has finally “turned the page” on the COVID-19 pandemic, for now at least, and that it’s time to refocus on “supercharging” the economy.

While Gov. Andrew Cuomo has held daily briefings on the coronavirus and issued more than 250 executive orders, the state legislature has been absent from the capital for six weeks. Now, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins say they plan to hold committee meetings on Tuesday and convene in session in the following days to vote on legislation related to the COVID-19 pandemic.