BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - The budget for New York State will not include legislation on much-talked about topics like sports gambling and marijuana, though it will include a ban on single-use plastic bags.
Plastic bags only recently entered the statewide conversation but lawmakers and the governor managed to reach an agreement on the ban on single-use plastic bags at grocery stores.
Political analyst Carl Calabrese explained that while democrats may have thought marijuana and sports gambling were "slam dunk" issues, last-minute red flags that were raised backed some legislators off of the issues.
"It's not over yet," Calabrese said in an interview on Friday. "I can tell you, the annual budget dance is very complicated and lots of times when you think something is a sure thing it dies and when you think it's dead, it gets resurrected. We have saying here in the office that you just have to wait until it's all said and done and the final document comes through to know where you stand. That's the nature of the budget process in the state."
New York State lawmakers proposed the legalization of marijuana since at least 2014 while legalized sports gambling only came into the picture last year after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed states to make their own decision on sports gambling. The proposed ban on single-use plastic bags at grocery stores began as early as 2016.
The inability to legalize marijuana is relieving news for law enforcement. Niagara County Sheriff Jim Voutour told WBEN last week that he, like other area sheriff's, are against its legalization because of its effect on drivers.
"We're interested in keeping people safe," Voutour said. "We've looked at numbers across the country, particularly in areas where it's legalized like Colorado and Washington."
In addition to the effect on drivers, Voutour said he's worried about how it will affect their own employees and whether or not a deputy could have marijuana in their system when they respond to a call.
"We've had a policy for years and years that was in place before I became a police officer," Voutour said. "Even if they made it legal in New York State, there's still federal law which we'll have to contend with as well."
Voutour said the Niagara County Sheriff's Office has two drug recognition experts in the field and also utilize state troopers for tests on marijuana.
Marijuana and other much-talked about legislation could still pass before the end of the legislative session on June 19.