ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York lawmakers are kicking off their 2019 session, a six-month work period expected to be dominated by debates about marijuana legalization, congestion tolls in Manhattan and making it easier to vote.
The work gets under way Wednesday when members of the Senate and Assembly convene in the state Capitol.
In the Senate, Andrea Stewart-Cousins will formally take over as leader following big Democratic gains in last fall's elections. The Yonkers Democrat is the first woman to lead a legislative chamber in New York.
Democratic control of both chambers has raised the prospects for several bills that were blocked by Republicans when they held the Senate. That list includes a bill that would give child molestation victims more time to sue their abusers and another that would eliminate cash bail.
