New York’s legislative session ended in a sprint after a budget delayed by months — and lawmakers are already calling it productive. On this episode of From the Lobby, host Joanna Pasceri sits down with Jack O’Donnell, managing partner of O’Donnell & Associates, to unpack a final budget that came in roughly $8 billion higher than projected, a wave of impending leadership turnover in Albany, a redistricting proposal headed to voters, and Governor Kathy Hochul’s looming decision on a one-year data center moratorium. O’Donnell also weighs in on Washington, where Republicans united behind new ICE and Border Patrol funding — a vote he says underscores President Trump’s “iron grip” on his party.
Joanna Pasceri
The frenzy is over in Albany. The budget is done and the legislative session ended. What did lawmakers actually accomplish and how will it affect the campaigns ahead? Hi, everybody, and welcome back to From the Lobby with Jack O’Donnell. Each week we take the biggest stories from Albany and Washington, cut through the politics and break down what they really mean with Jack, managing partner of O’Donnell & Associates. He’s been digesting the deals, the disagreements, and the decisions that will shape the months ahead. Jack, great to have you back.
Jack O’Donnell
Great to be with you, Joanna.
Joanna Pasceri
The budget was several months late. The rest of the session became a sprint. Yet legislative leaders are calling this session productive. Is this a session lawmakers can tout in their campaigns this summer?
Jack O’Donnell
Well, I guess that’s the great thing about politics. You can often find a way, no matter what it is, to say it’s a win. But look, I’m being facetious. There’s plenty in the budget, plenty in session for folks to take credit for and trumpet. There’s also plenty of resources to go around, right? So money that folks are bringing back to their districts and special projects and capital projects and who knows what else. So certainly things legislators will find to put a smile on. But I think everybody’s a little bit frustrated if they’re being honest with the process of the budget and the way session went.
Joanna Pasceri
Now we’re hearing the final budget came in roughly $8 billion higher than originally projected. That’s a big jump. What happened? And is this a big deal?
Jack O’Donnell
It is a big deal. I mean, we already were talking about a real record and just an incredible amount of spending. We’ve talked about it on this podcast before. But New York State tried to put a lot of resources into places where the federal government was stepping back, or at least stepping back from New York. And so that meant a lot more spending. I have not done a deep dive on the fiscal plan that was released yesterday by the Department of Budget. We’re told a lot of this is around some different Medicaid stuff and it’s no big deal. But I think that’s going to be worth a deeper look. And we’ll try to have a little more on that for our memo next week. But again, we’ve also talked about the fact that Medicaid spending is increasing significantly faster than inflation. Education spending is also going up well above inflation, even while the number of students enrolled in schools across New York are going down. So all of this is going to cause a fiscal reckoning at some point.
Joanna Pasceri
There’s also a lot of leadership turnover coming to Albany. The Assembly majority leader and the number two in the Senate are retiring. And Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins is approaching the end of her time in leadership due to term limits. So what kind of impact will all of those changes have on the power structure there?
Jack O’Donnell
Well, look, it matters, right? It matters who’s in charge. Those of us in Western New York have certainly felt that with Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes being in her position for the last number of years. Mike Gianaris has really been a strong voice, especially on the left in the state Senate. And he’s been a key part of the campaigns that have helped solidify Democrats with a super majority or something close in the state Senate. So that certainly matters. To give you a sense of how important a role Mike Gianaris plays, there was talk now of breaking up his three roles, having a separate floor leader, a separate deputy leader and a third person who is the chair of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee. So three pretty big jobs that are under him. But the even bigger change would be really if Democrats in the state Senate adhere to these self-imposed term limits — if Andrea Stewart-Cousins were to step down, or important figures like Liz Krueger, who’s the chair of Senate Finance. She’s also coming up against her self-imposed limit. So I wouldn’t be surprised if Democrats find a way to kind of skirt these or give waivers like we’ve seen in the House of Representatives. But it’s certainly something we’ll be watching over the next few months.
Joanna Pasceri
One of the biggest issues settled this session was a proposal that could make it easier to redraw congressional district lines. Voters will ultimately have the decision here. An unscientific poll in this week’s Monday Morning Memo shows a lot of skepticism. How do you think this does play across the state?
Jack O’Donnell
Well, I think there is a lot of skepticism. We talked about a couple of years ago, there was a less intense or less broad version of this that Democrats had proposed as a constitutional amendment that would have changed the independent redistricting process, and voters voted it down. Now, that was before we’ve seen this sort of wild, hyper-partisan redistricting across the country. But I think voters broadly are kind of skeptical of this and like the idea of independent nominations and independent commissions drawing these lines. But it’s still a Democratic state, and there are a lot of Democrats who feel like now that Texas and Mississippi and Florida have done this, that it’s our turn to do it too. So I think this would be really competitive, and we’ll need to see — Democrats will have to put a lot of campaign behind it if they’re hoping to get it through.
Joanna Pasceri
Last week we talked about the bill passed that places a one-year moratorium on new data centers. Now the spotlight is on Governor Hochul. Does she sign it?
Jack O’Donnell
Well, that is the $64,000 question, right? We’re hearing from clients, friends, neighbors — what is she going to do? At the time, there was a three-year moratorium under discussion in the legislature and the governor said publicly that she didn’t like the idea of a moratorium and really thought these should be local decisions that municipalities and communities make for themselves. At the same time, there is just a tsunami of populist energy behind this anti-data center movement. And in an election year, that’s powerful too. But if I have to guess, I think the first thing is that the governor takes her time before acting. In New York, she has that ability to kind of draw this out. And then I think there would be some serious conversations about chapter amendments or changes to the bill that maybe at the very least grandfather folks who are in the queue now. But this is gonna be intense lobbying, both from firms like ours and organized labor and activists out there and just regular citizens who feel very strongly. So a lot more to come on this. And we’ll be watching it, of course.
Joanna Pasceri
Before we let you go, Jack, let’s turn to D.C. A close vote, but Congress finally has approved major funding for ICE and Border Patrol through President Trump’s term. All voting for it were Republican. All the Democratic priorities were left out. What does this say about the President’s influence?
Jack O’Donnell
Well, we’ve written a lot about that and talked a lot about that. The President has an iron grip on Republicans and continues to. We’ve seen a couple cracks, sort of more about the War Powers Resolution and the conflict in Iran. But he controls the Republican Party. I think they’re all afraid of primaries encouraged by or endorsed by the President. And he’s got a lot of control. So this is kind of where we were before. Republicans feel one way, but to get through the Senate, they need some Democratic votes. And this divide is how we got into the last shutdown. So a lot more to come on this.
Joanna Pasceri
Jack, always great having you from the lobby.
Jack O’Donnell
Thanks for having me, Joanna.
Joanna Pasceri
New York’s legislative session may be over, but the political consequences are just beginning. We’ll be watching how these decisions play out in Albany, in Washington, and on the campaign trail. Stay in the loop with Jack’s Monday Morning Memo, a no-paywall newsletter that arrives in your inbox each week. Sign up at odonnellsolutions.com. Thanks for listening, everyone. We’ll see you next time from the lobby with Jack O’Donnell.
