In this episode, Joanna Pasceri and Jack O’Donnell discuss the final days of the legislative session in Albany, highlighting key bills and their chances of passing. They delve into contentious issues such as the sale of wine in supermarkets, the Packaging and Recycling Infrastructure Act, and the ban on non-compete clauses. The conversation also touches on the growing support for artificial intelligence in New York and the complexities of budget talks in Washington, particularly the influence of President Trump on Congress.
Summary of this Episode
Guests
- Joanna Pasceri: Director of Communications at O’Donnell and Associates.
- Jack O’Donnell: Managing Partner at O’Donnell and Associates.
Major Topics Covered
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- A lot of things are going to get done in Albany.
- The wine in supermarkets bill is still alive but unlikely to pass this year.
- The Packaging and Recycling Infrastructure Act may see a compromise.
- The non-compete clause bill has strong support but faces challenges.
- AI is gaining traction in New York, but regulation is needed.
- The Senate has more procedural rules than the House.
- Trump’s influence on Congress is significant and powerful.
- The legislative session may end quietly rather than with major announcements.
- Frantic lobbying is expected in the final days of the session.
- The political landscape is shifting with upcoming mayoral primaries.
Full Transcript of the Episode
Note: This is a generated transcript. Please excuse any typos.
Joanna Pasceri (00:01.736)
The big push is on in Albany as the legislative session enters its final days. Hi, everybody. Thanks for joining us from the lobby with Jack O’Donnell for our Monday Morning Minute, the podcast version of Monday Morning Memo, an award winning newsletter with the latest in politics and government from Jack, managing partner of O’Donnell and Associates. This week, Jack lays out the bills still alive in the legislature and their chances of becoming law.
Let’s bring them in. Jack, welcome to the podcast.
Jack O’Donnell (00:34.21)
Hi Joanna, great to be with you from the lobby.
Joanna Pasceri (00:38.238)
You know, the state Senate only has about six days left in session, the assembly going a couple of days more. What are the chances any outstanding bills get approved during this short window?
Jack O’Donnell (00:50.669)
Well, a lot of things are going to get done. So many of them are the things that are really important to a particular group or a community or things like bed taxes and additional sales tax. So you’ll see a couple hundred bills pass. The question is about some of the bigger ones that really people are watching that affect people’s lives.
I do think the session’s probably gonna end more with a whimper than a bang, but boy, anything can happen.
Joanna Pasceri (01:25.395)
Well, the most read story in the memo involves a bill to sell wine in supermarkets. This issue seems to come up every year, but has yet to become law, despite being very popular with the public. Is this the year it gets to the finish line?
Jack O’Donnell (01:40.395)
Well, it’s definitely very much alive and I think we misspoke a little in the memo and said liquor not wine. But it’s a big, big issue and I know consumers really like it, but there are a lot of folks who are really focused on the liquor stores and the jobs and the investment that have gone into them. They’ve built a really kind of sizable army of folks in the legislature who care about them, care about those districts and that those investments. So, you know, we did see some changes to the bill this year. The fights being led by Senator Liz Krueger, who’s a very powerful member, very influential member. She’s chair of the Senate Finance Committee. So it’s certainly alive, but my guess is it
It’s not gonna move this year.
Joanna Pasceri (02:39.496)
Does this keep coming up year after year or do you think eventually they’ll just give up trying to push this bill?
Jack O’Donnell (02:46.701)
I think its day will come. I do think that the world has moved that way. Over decades, you see a lot of big changes in Albany are resisted by the folks who are going to be impacted. Back to the employees who collected tolls held up easy pass for a while because those were some good jobs and people didn’t want to lose their jobs.
I think the same thing is happening here, it’s a, you know, I would call it a rear guard action. And I don’t, you know, over the next couple of years, I think something will give.
Joanna Pasceri (03:26.746)
Another contentious bill is the Packaging and Recycling Infrastructure Act that would charge companies for their packaging waste and require them to reduce the amount. Businesses say it will drive up costs significantly and are offering a compromise. Do you think this will be considered?
Jack O’Donnell (03:48.918)
Absolutely, I think some sort of compromise is being considered. mean, last year until the 11th hour, there were some negotiations between the Senate and, you know, who has passed this measure a couple of times and the assembly about trying to find something workable that would get people through and get enough votes to pass. I think the business council putting in their their own proposal is a sort of a red line or this is where the business community is and will spark further of those discussions. Again, with the late budget and sort of the attitude in Albany, there’s a lot of, man, it’s time for everybody to get out of here. Obviously, we have mayoral primaries in Buffalo and New York City three weeks from today.
And so there’s just not a lot of energy to get things done. So my guess is that this slips again this year, but there’s going to be frantic lobbying over the next 10 days.
Joanna Pasceri (04:58.098)
You write in the memo about another bill under discussion that would ban non-compete clauses in employment contracts. This has passed the legislature before, but was vetoed by the governor. Some tweaks have been made to the legislation. Will it get passed and is it good enough to win over Hocal this time?
Jack O’Donnell (05:16.959)
Yeah, I definitely think this is going to pass the state senate and be a live issue at the end. know, again, I’m going to guess that it falls just short along with a lot of these other bills. But we’ll see. There are a lot of folks in the legislature and beyond who really think that businesses use these non-compete clauses to you stifle competition and intimidate workers. And so, you know, that piece of this has a lot of support. At the same time, you know, New York State is home to so many creative industries. And there are a lot in those pieces where, you know, non-compete clauses are really designed to protect trade secrets and things like that. So, you know, it’s a tough balance.
My guess is it passes the Senate and not the Assembly this year.
Joanna Pasceri (06:17.285)
Artificial intelligence is getting strong support in New York. The state is funding more programs on college campuses, including at the University at Buffalo, our client. How important is it that the state also regulate this emerging technology?
Jack O’Donnell (06:33.983)
Yeah, I think there’s a developing consensus that the state needs to do something. I think we’re all really excited about the possibilities of this, especially those of us in Western New York excited about the Empire AI Consortium being housed at UB and the just immense opportunities for AI to do good and to help people.
And that’s fantastic. The problem is there aren’t a lot of guardrails about that. And there are people, whether they’re creators or whether they’re folks sitting in their basement who want to use AI for sinister purposes. so, know, are a lot of the tech companies don’t want to be held responsible for what they create. And it is a important to find a responsible balance, I do think while there is no and there will be no action out of Washington in the next couple years, it’s really important that New York stand up and find a place to do that. You know, that’s why we’re watching this RAISE Act. I think that unlike some more radical proposals, you know, this really balances a lot of that allowing creativity, allowing that investment, allowing that ability of companies to create while at the same time putting in some responsible guardrails so folks do the right thing.
Joanna Pasceri (08:18.211)
You write in the memo about several other bills being considered in Albany involving early release of inmates to ease prison overcrowding, the Medical Aid in Dying Act. We have a poll on that in our Monday morning memo and efforts to help improve academic outcomes for students with dyslexia. If you’d like to know more about these issues, check out our Monday morning memo on our website at odonnelsolutions.com.
So turning now to Washington, the House has passed its version of the budget. Now it’s the Senate’s turn. I don’t know how well it’s going, but you write in the memo, there are a lot of reasons why these budget talks may be even more challenging than the ones in the House. Why is that?
Jack O’Donnell (09:02.485)
Well, think the folks in the Senate are even further dug into their respective corners. We saw Senator Ron Johnson yesterday release a red line about how much he wants in cuts, and it’s a lot. And at the same time, you’ve got a lot more moderate members in the Senate, Susan Collins in Maine, Lisa Mikersky in…in Alaska. And there are less of them, right? And so they all have a little more power. The other thing is that the Senate has a lot more rules about how this works. You know, the date back, a lot of them is called the birdbath name for Senator Robert C. Byrd. Really tough procedural things. I suspect we’re going to see a lot of frustration from the president and some of the the Senate leaders on any rulings by the parliamentarian in the Senate. But you also won’t see those until there is a deal on a bill. And so that’s going to make this process longer and sort of more winding.
Joanna Pasceri (10:15.951)
President Trump wants to be able to sign a deal by July 4th. Is that a deadline you think they’re going to be able to meet?
Jack O’Donnell (10:23.848)
Well, no, but I’ll tell you, the hold the president has on his party in Congress, more intense than any we’ve seen since, I don’t know, maybe LBJ and the Democrats back during the Great Society. So he is able to push things and he is the, make no mistake, is the straw that stirs the drink.
And so I think if he puts his political muscle into it, he can do anything with the Republicans in the Senate that he wants.
Joanna Pasceri (11:01.637)
Favorite news link this week?
Jack O’Donnell (11:05.638)
You know, a father of a 10 and an eight year old, we play an awful lot of Uno at home and on the road. So I love this story about the bar fights that are coming out of Uno and the resurgence of Uno. That was really a lot of fun to read.
Joanna Pasceri (11:14.052)
Thank
Joanna Pasceri (11:25.237)
I have a college student who also confirmed those are games they play with, no now, little darker versions. So head to our memo and check that out. Jack, thanks so much for joining us and for your insight today.
Jack O’Donnell (11:31.604)
What fun.
Jack O’Donnell (11:39.454)
Thanks for having me.
Joanna Pasceri (11:41.485)
Okay.
