Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The New York State Legislature is in the final days of its 2025 session. The State Senate plans to adjourn on Friday, while the State Assembly is looking at a June 17 end date.
It's do or die time for a number of legislative bills. We ran some of them by Albany insider Jack O'Donnell of O'Donnell & Associates:
Medical Aid in Dying
The bill allowing for terminally ill patients to end their lives with the assistance of a physician could come up for a vote as early as Monday.
It has already passed the State Assembly, and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins says she believes the votes are there for passage.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has yet to take a position on it, according to O'Donnell.
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Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act
This bill is very much alive, according to O'Donnell.
It would require companies to pay fees based on the amount of packaging waste they generate, and would require these companies to fund and oversee a new organization that would be responsible for fee collection and waste reduction initiatives.
It would require a 30% reduction in packaging over 12 years.
Pharmacy reform
Local independent pharmacies have been raising alarm bells and calling on the State Legislature to pass the Patient Access to Pharmacy Protection Act (PAPPA) to help regulate Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) that have unfair prescription reimbursement rates. This follows the closing of dozens of Rite Aid stores across the nation and in Western New York.
The pharmacists say PBMs are to blame, as they are the middlemen between pharmaceutical companies, insurers, and pharmacies that process claims.
O'Donnell says he doesn't know if this specific piece of legislation is going to get passed in the current session.
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Wine in grocery stores
A bill to allow the sale of wine in grocery stores was amended to allow food stores larger than 4,000 square feet to apply to sell wine, and would allow liquor stores to sell snacks, tobacco and drink mixers. There is also a provision that prevents supermarkets that sell wine from being within 500 feet of liquor stores.
O'Donnell says the measure is losing momentum.
"People who own liquor stores have really pushed back on this. Frankly, they've done a better job than the grocery stores at engaging legislators. I don't think this is something that's going to happen in 2025, but I do think it's something that will happen in the next couple of years," he said.
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