With just eleven scheduled days remaining, the first legislative session with the new Democratic Senate Majority has seen both houses working diligently on their respective agendas. In total, 14,000 bills have been introduced. Of these, the legislature has approved of 185 “same-as” bills, pieces of legislation which have been introduced in both houses. According to the Buffalo News, the legislature passed twice as many bills over the first five months of the legislative session compared to the average for the previous ten years.

Their work, however, is far from over. With just over three weeks of session remaining, advocates continue to rally for their interests for and against various priority bills. High profile issues still under consideration include : rent regulation, marijuana legalization, medically assisted suicide, sexual harassment, prevailing wage, capital spending, sports betting, farm worker rights, immigrant driver’s licenses, limo safety, consumer protections, as well as a litany of local municipal issues. The legislative session is scheduled to conclude on June 19th.