A recent report from the Business Council of New York State made the case that employers in the Empire State don't feel like they're being heard by state policymakers. Putting aside that every interest group feels like this, it's undeniable that business interests do play a lot of defense during the legislative session in Albany.

To discuss the lobbying efforts of the business community we sat down with former Democratic Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski, who is now a lobbyist with Brown & Weinraub.

And for Working Rules we explored the relationship between New York governors and the State Education Department with Patrick Mannion, an upstate representative of the state Board of Regents.

And if you enjoy Dispatches from Planet Albany, please leave us a rating and consider becoming a recurring contributor to support the podcast (because we could really use the money).