The Capitol Pressroom

September 24, 2025- If federal environmental regulators are going to back off some water protection measures, how should state policymakers work to preserve clean drinking water? We examine this changing landscape with Robert Hayes, senior director clean water at Environmental Advocates NY.

September 23, 2025- New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner and CEO RuthAnne Visnauskas discusses an investment in manufactured homes and how it could promote homeownership in communities with low-property values.

Sept. 23, 2025 - Assemblymember Robert Smullen makes the case for creating a state process to setup roadside memorials to recognize traffic deaths. The Mohawk Valley Republican's son died in 2024 after being hit by a motor vehicles.

Sept. 23, 2025 - The Trump administration's hostility to immunizations, including the COVID-19 vaccine, has prompted state action to preserve access to these public health services. We explore what the landscape looks like in New York with Dr. Scott Guisinger, vice president of pharmacy for Price Chopper, Market 32, and Tops Markets and a director on the board of the Community Pharmacy Association of New York.

September 22, 2025- New York policymakers looking to regulate the marketing of Kratom aren't making carveouts for "natural" products, which is a mistake, according to Dr. C Michael White, a department head at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy.

September 22, 2025- A handful of public colleges are facing hard choices in order to address systemic financial challenges, but a campus in central New York makes the case that their situation is unique and warrants additional state support. Our guest is Matthew Smith, local union president at SUNY College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry, where he director of college libraries.

September 22, 2025- The Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government wants to hear from the public on possible reforms to the state's laws and regulations designed to address corruption. We discuss what's on the table with Sandy Berland, the commission's executive director.

September 22, 2025- A major question of states' rights is going to play out in the courts as the result of Texas challenging a shield law in New York. We break down the case and its implications with Dale Margolin Cecka, an assistant professor of law at Albany Law school.

September 19, 2025-New York State Environmental Conservation Commissioner Amanda Lefton discusses staffing levels, gas pipeline permitting, and the unique stamp she brings to the Hochul administration.

September 19, 2025- Assemblymember Emily Gallagher, a Brooklyn Democrat, and state Sen. Jabari Brisport, a Brooklyn Democrat, weigh in on an affordable housing development in Brooklyn that isn't producing the promised units and make the case for a different model of building affordable units.

September 18, 2025- We explore legislation designed to let out-of-state athletic trainers work in New York in limited circumstances with Aimee Brunelle, athletic trainer and wellness coordinator for the South Colonie Central School District.

September 18, 2025- Assemblymember Jen Lunsford, a Rochester-area Democrat, makes the case for her legislation putting in-state payroll processing companies on the same playing field as their out-of-state competition.

September 18, 2025- State Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Jackie Bray discusses the risk of political violence in New York and considers how the political discourse can contribute to violence.

September 17, 2025- New York State Coalition for Children's Behavioral Health President & CEO Kayleigh Zaloga discusses a settlement with the Hochul administration that requires increased state investment in Medicaid rates for child mental health services.

September 17, 2025-A new survey by the Siena Research Institute takes the temperature of New Yorkers on public safety and the performance of President Donald Trump. Our guest is Siena pollster Steve Greenberg.

September 17, 2025- The Trump administration and their Republican allies in Congress are ending federal subsidies for green initiatives, like tax credits for electric vehicles, so we examine the fallout of these shifting priorities with Doreen Harris, president and CEO of New York State Energy Research & Development Authority.

September 17, 2025- LifeSciencesNY Executive Director Winthrop Thurlow warns that New York's plans to be on the cutting edge of artificial intelligence development could be undermined by the wrong regulatory approach. We discuss efforts to regulate this evolving industry and how AI could boost health care services.

September 16, 2025- Mental Health Association in New York State CEO Glenn Liebman makes the case for establishing a commission to oversee the reduction in the number of psychiatric hospitals  in the Empire State.

September 16, 2025- Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas, a Queens Democrat, discusses her legislation requiring state health officials to proactively disseminate and promote information about reproductive health care in New York, including abortion services and financial support.

September 16, 2025- Legislation awaiting the governor's signature would potentially make formerly incarcerated New Yorkers eligible to be hired for preferred source employment opportunities. We consider the ramifications of this idea with Maureen O'Brien, president and CEO New York State Industries for the Disabled.