The Albany Update

Thank you for joining this week’s edition of the Albany Update.

During this week’s program, we’ll be looking at NYCF’s 2022 Digital Day of Action and the issues covered in the livestream. In regard to the protection of human life, we highlight our opposition to a proposal from Gov. Kathy Hochul that would mandate and expand abortion coverage in New York. In the realm of family policy, NYCF focuses on our opposition to requiring COVID-19 vaccination as a prerequisite for school attendance. Regarding religious liberty, NYCF reports on our opposition to a legislative proposal to pass socialized medicine. Regarding issues of justice and mercy, we highlight our support for legislation to require Medicaid coverage for post-childbirth hospitalization.

The 2022 Digital Day of Action is free of charge. The event is held in conjunction with NYCF’s educational affiliate, New Yorker’s Family Research Foundation. You can catch it live on Tuesday, March 15, beginning at 9:00 AM or watch the broadcast on demand at AlbanyUpdate.com/Live.

Let’s get started.

Thank you for joining this week’s edition of the Albany Update.

A federal bill that had the pro-life community concerned went down to defeat in the U.S. Senate last week. New York’s two U.S. Senators, Schumer and Gillibrand, unsurprisingly voted for the legislation, but one lone Democrat stood with the Republicans to defeat this no good, very bad bill.

Abortion continues to be a state concern as well, though. Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed budget has language that would statutorily require abortion coverage in every healthcare plan. New York’s pro-life community is mobilizing against this measure.

Continuing the theme of healthcare coverage, there’s an effort to socialize medicine in the Empire State. If passed, your private health insurance coverage would disappear, and all healthcare would come via the state. What might this proposal mean for your tax rate?

Then, on the education front we’ll see that parents are pulling their kids out of public education in record numbers. It isn’t all pandemic-induced reactions, either. There’s an opportunity for churches across the state to meet the challenge in starting new private schools. Will New York’s churches rise to the occasion?

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Thank you for joining this week’s edition of the Albany Update.

It’s been a wild week in not just state or national politics, but in the global political scene. I’ll tell you more about an extended interview I had with a missionary to the Ukrainian people. He helps us understand how to pray for the Ukrainians and world leaders right now.

Then, turning to national politics, we’ll see that Senator Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has scheduled a vote on a very bad abortion-minded bill.

But on a more positive front, a few Republican House Members have been pulling their names off a piece of legislation that we view as advancing transgender ideology.

Speaking of transgender ideology, there is a disturbing and dangerous trend of young people using the crowdfunding platform, GoFundMe, to raise funds for their hormone treatments and surgical alterations.

Finally, there are two upcoming events that I need to tell you more about.

Let’s get started.

Thank you for joining this week’s edition of the Albany Update.

Across the country and here in New York, many are growing weary of the COVID restrictions. While mask mandates have long been a point of contention, the effort to end them is gaining momentum. Today, we’ll tell you about the Republican effort to end the school mask mandate across the Empire State.

Then, with the Superbowl in the rear-view mirror, we’ll reflect on the amount of money that New Yorkers spent in the first month of sports betting. The number is staggering!

Next, Albany’s failure to release the regulations for marijuana sales in New York is leaving a loophole. Pot proprietors, who can’t yet legally sell weed, are instead selling pot stickers to cannabis connoisseurs and throwing in the weed for free. It’s a way some are trying to circumvent state law.

We’re not done yet, though. There is a positive development in state government. Governor Kathy Hochul has hired a Chief Disability Officer for the State of New York. This cabinet-level position will help ensure that New Yorkers with disabilities will not be treated as second class citizens.

Finally, it’s almost March, which means that it’s time to share our monthly prayer needs with our listeners.

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Thank you for joining this week’s edition of the Albany Update.

On February 9, 2022, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the statewide mask mandate for indoor public places would be lifted effective February 10. In today’s program, we encourage Gov. Hochul to lift the mask mandate for schools as well.

Then, Under the leadership of Gov. Kathy Hochul, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) is considering adopting several regulations pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed regulations have prompted a great deal of public concern due to their encroachments upon personal and religious liberty. In recent days, New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms has issued public comments on four of those proposed regulations.

Let’s get started.

Thank you for joining this week’s edition of the Albany Update.

Article I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution requires that a census be taken every ten years. Following the decennial count, the resulting numbers are used to draw legislative district lines corresponding to whatever population shifts may have occurred during the last decade. This redrawing of district maps is referred to as redistricting. Redistricting is a topic that has dominated Albany dialogue in recent days.

Members of Congress, State Senators and Members of Assembly care about redistricting because it has great impact on their political prospects. A district that results in a larger number of Republican voters than Democrat ones, makes it more likely for a Republican candidate to win the seat. If a district has a greater concentration of Democrats, it may encourage more Democratic candidates to run for office, while discouraging GOP challengers. Members of the public should care about the drawing of these political boundary lines because it has great bearing on how they’ll be represented in legislative chambers.

For the first time, the Democratic Majorities in Albany singlehandedly controlled the redistricting process. As a result, good government groups and the GOP are both crying foul at the gerrymandered result.

In today’s program, we’ll examine New York state’s redistricting process.

Let’s get started.

Thank you for joining this week’s edition of the Albany Update.

Recently, we discussed the annual March for Life and now that the 2022 March for Life is behind us, we'd like to tell you a little more about why this march mattered so much.

Looking at federal news, the biggest story of the week was the announcement that United State Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will be stepping down from the bench. This means that President Joe Biden will likely have his first opportunity to appoint a justice to the nation’s highest court.

Then, turning to state news, we’ll see an effort by Senator Jeremy Cooney (D-Rochester) to offer preferential treatment to lesbian, gay and bisexual business owners. It’s affirmative action for the LGB community.

Following that we’ll look at how the Democratic Supermajorities in the New York State Legislature are attempting to mute the voice of the Republican Minority in both floor debate and the gerrymandering of legislative districts.

Finally, we’ll take you to Ithaca, NY where grade school students are encouraged to use their preferred personal pronouns and helped their school create a webpage riddled with resources for their LGBTQIA+ classmates. To make matters worse, the school board seems to be fully on board with the agenda. It’s past time for more believers to run for school board and other elected offices in this state.

Let’s get started.

Thank you for joining this week’s edition of the Albany Update.

At the federal level, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer suffered an unsurprising, but still stinging, defeat when an effort to repeal the filibuster rule was rejected. In today’s program, we’ll explain what this means and why maintaining the filibuster rule matters so much.

Turning to state news, the State Assembly is moving a measure that would likely add a Planned Parenthood representative to a panel that approves applications for abortion facilities in New York. One has to wonder how objective that appointee would be.

Then, on a more positive note, we’re supporting a bill that would make sure new moms and their babies are eligible for at least 48 hours of medical care covered by Medicaid.

Today, we’ll also mark School Choice Week. It’s a great opportunity to highlight the importance of not only educational options, but also parental rights in those choices.

Finally, it’s hard to believe we’re already looking at February, but here we are. Our organization has a new list of suggested prayer requests and some praises that you can be lifting up next month.

Let’s get started.

Thank you for joining this week’s edition of the Albany Update.

The story that dominated the news cycle last week was the United State Supreme Court’s beat down of President Joe Biden’s OSHA overreach. There was something to celebrate in the decision, but an area for concern as well. We’ll discuss.

In New York, mobile sports betting recently went live and we’re not a fan.

Then, we’ll note the appointment of a new judge to the State Court of Appeals. Every other judge on the state’s highest court has been appointed by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, but now Gov. Kathy Hochul has made her mark on the Empire State’s judiciary.

Next, access is limited at the New York State Capitol again this year and it will have an impact on our annual Legislative Day event for a third year.

Finally, I’ll offer an update on our 2021 year-end campaign—and my gratitude to our friends and supporters.

Let’s get started.

Thank you for joining this week’s edition of the Albany Update.

In Albany, Governor Kathy Hochul offered her inaugural—and unless she wins re-election in November—her only State of the State Address. What will the Governor’s priorities be in the coming months? We’ll discuss.

Mrs. Hochul wasn’t the only laying out her agenda, though. The State of the State Address also serves as the unofficial start of the legislative session. The State Senate Republicans took the opportunity to lay out their “Take Back New York” agenda. In today’s program, we’ll let you what the GOP is proposing for the Empire State.

Then, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, has announced that his office will no longer prosecute certain types of crimes. From our position, that will only encourage more lawlessness.

Next, an intriguing piece of legislation was recently signed into law. It is poised to empower citizen advocates in New York, and frankly, we’re a little surprised that legislators and the Governor even allowed it. Stay tuned, and we’ll fill you in on the details.

Finally, we’d like to stick a pin in the pot proposals that localities were considering late last year. How many municipalities decided to opt out of marijuana shops and pot lounges in their communities?

Let’s get started.