By DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) The state has a new law to stop independent political groups from unfairly helping candidates for elected office, though critics say it won’t fix chronic corruption in Albany and could have negative unintended consequences. Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the law on Wednesday, calling it a “first-in-the-nation” […]

By DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration failed to properly oversee $22 million spent to promote tourism in areas affected by three damaging storms, federal auditors said. New York officials did not comply with procurement rules and failed to ensure money was spent effectively, the report from the Department of […]

By DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) New York state committed last year to generating half of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2030. Now comes the hard part: figuring out how to do it. Several big decisions in the next few weeks could fill in some of the details about how […]

By DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) Communities across New York state still reeling from the housing crisis are getting some help from the state in dealing with abandoned properties. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman told The Associated Press Thursday that his office will award $13 million in grants to local governments with […]

By MICHAEL HILL Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) Negotiations to save the FitzPatrick nuclear power plant from closure by selling it to the operators of a nearby nuclear plant on Lake Ontario are underway. Exelon said Wednesday it was in discussions to purchase Entergy Corp.'s FitzPatrick plant in Scriba, New York, which employs more than […]

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) The lenders who advance poor people money on their paychecks charge exorbitant interest rates that often snare the most vulnerable customers in a cycle of debt, the industry’s critics have long said. Yet even consumer advocates who loathe the industry admit it fulfills a need: Providing […]

New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo, and separately, the Pennsylvania state legislature, have been cleaning up many of its prohibition era and blue laws over the past few weeks. It’s been a step-by-step process in New York as Governor Cuomo has put in place reforms to allow small businesses to be less burdened by the restrictions […]

By MICHAEL VIRTANEN Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) Nonprofits that care for thousands of developmentally disabled New Yorkers said Wednesday that their chronic understaffing is reaching a crisis, with nearly 10 percent job vacancies last year. They said they can't fill the jobs because of the low pay for challenging work, and upcoming minimum wage […]

By KASSIE PARISI Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) New York lawmakers are considering legislation to limit the amount of prescription opioid drugs patients can get after an initial visit to the doctor's office, part of an effort to reduce the amount of pills that accumulate in medicine cabinets and help fuel a statewide addiction crisis. […]

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) New York health insurers have proposed premium increases averaging 17.3 percent for next year in the market for individuals and 12 percent for small groups. The Department of Financial Services often reduces proposed increases before approving them. Approved rates are expected in early August. The amounts posted Wednesday by the department are […]