New York 2016 Legislative Session Wrap Up

The New York state legislature closed out its 2016 legislative session in the early morning hours on Saturday. Although the legislature came up short on a number of big-ticket items, such as comprehensive legislative ethics reform, an effort to bring ridesharing to upstate New York, and a replacement for New York City's 421-a tax program, a number of significant legislative accomplishments were, in typical fashion, finalized in the closing hours of this year's legislative calendar.

Opioid addiction

New York, like the rest of the country, has been grappling with an opioid/heroin epidemic that has impacted communities across the state. In the past, legislative leaders and the Governor had publicly expressed their desire to find a legislative response to the crisis. The deal that was struck at the end of session resulted in a package of three bills designed to address the problem. The bills would reduce to 7 from 30 the number of days an opioid can be initially