The state comptroller has come out with revenue projections that will limit the ability to spend more money in the state budget. Under law, the governor and Legislature have to abide by those numbers — but that hasn’t stopped interest groups and some lawmakers from saying that they will increase spending.

Lawmakers in the New York state Assembly have voted to raise the smoking age from 18 to 21.

The legislation, which passed the Democrat-led chamber on Wednesday, prohibits the sale of tobacco, as well as electronic cigarettes, to anyone under 21.

That's already the law in seven states and several cities around the country, including New York City.

The measure is backed by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo and has broad support in the Democrat-controlled state Senate, where it has yet to be scheduled for a vote.

"There’s panic," Marty Teller said, sitting in a conference room in the executive offices of the Finger Lakes Area Counseling and Recovery Agency. "What you’re really seeing is, the epidemic is rising."

For five rural counties around the Finger Lakes, FLACRA is the only provider of certain state-sanctioned treatments for opioid use disorder. On a per capita basis, those counties have some of the highest death rates due to opioid overdose in New York state.

There were some emotional moments when lawmakers and supporters of a school funding measure rallied at the Capitol Tuesday. They were there to advocate for $4 billion - money they say has long been owed to them under an order by the state’s highest court.

Miriam Aristy-Farer began helping hold fundraisers for the elementary school in her Washington Heights neighborhood when her son was small, and she saw that the district lacked art and music teachers, and special assistance for children with autism.

Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand are calling on officials to reduce the higher than average water levels on Lake Ontario, but officials who manage the water regulation say that might not be possible.

Lawyers argued the appeal Thursday in the case of the first man convicted under the SAFE Act.

That legislation, passed in 2013, adding strict requirements for buying, selling, and storing guns in New York State. Arguments were made at the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court in Rochester.

Benjamin Wassell is from Silver Creek, New York in Chautauqua County. He was convicted right after the SAFE ACT was passed. Authorities say that he sold a semi-automatic rifle to an undercover state trooper.

Economists and financial forecasters, speaking at the state Capitol as part of an annual consensus forecast meeting on the state budget, are warning of an impending recession in New York and the nation. The state is already experiencing some warning signs, with the governor’s budget office predicting a $2.6 billion dollar deficit.

The New York State Department of Labor has, for now, dropped its proposed changes to laws that affect workers who can be called into work at short notice.

The proposal would have required employers to give workers extra "call-in pay" if they were on call but not asked to come in, sent home early, or had a shift cancelled less than 72 hours before it was scheduled to start. 

The plan was based on employee complaints about a car wash in Queens but critics said it was used as a one-size-fits-all approach.

Leaders from New York’s Farm Bureau outlined their national public policy priorities for the year Wednesday morning.

Immigration is the big issue that David Fisher says has been on the top of their priorities list for years now.

Fisher is the Bureau’s President and says so much of the discussion has focused on border security.

There are five new inductees into the Rochester Music Hall of Fame, which is preparing for its annual ceremony at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre in April.

Board members announced the inductees, including Al Jardine, a founding member of the Beach Boys who spent some of his youth here in Rochester.

Other inductees include Emmy Award-winning composer Jack Alloco, a Rochester native who has composed music for “The Young and the Restless,” and “The Bold and Beautiful,” reaching a daily audience of 26 million people.