ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - In New York state government news, several high-profile measures that failed to pass before the New York Legislature wrapped up its annual session are bound to return.
They include bills to legalize physician-assisted suicide, permit alcohol sales in movie theaters and crack down on heroin dealers.
Other proposals that fell flat this year would have loosened the statute of limitations on child sex crimes to give victims more time to step forward to file lawsuits or seek criminal charges.
The Legislature adjourned Wednesday night and is not scheduled to return until January.
A look at the issues likely to resurface:
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NEW YORK CITY SCHOOLS
One unresolved issue may force lawmakers back into session still this year: the policy extending Mayor Bill de Blasio’s control over his city’s schools will expire June 30 because lawmakers failed to agree on an extension of the 15-year-old policy.
De Blasio, a Democrat, wants lawmakers to return before the expiration.
If the policy goes away control will revert to dozens of local school boards, creating new bureaucracy and eliminating centralized governance.
Mayoral control briefly lapsed once before, in 2009, before lawmakers reinstated it.
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CHILD VICTIMS ACT
Survivors of child molestation aren’t giving up on their long-standing proposal to loosen the statute of limitations on lawsuits for past abuse.
The bill would permit molestation victims to file civil lawsuits until they turn 50 and allow criminal charges until the victim turns 28. In addition, the law would create a one-year window for past victims to file civil suits.
It passed the Assembly but never got a vote in the Senate. Versions of the measure have languished for years under pressure from the Roman Catholic Church and other institutions.
Victims now have until they turn 23 to sue, but supporters say it can take years before victims feel comfortable stepping forward to report their abuse.
“It’s a crushing disappointment,” said Sen. Brad Hoylman, D-Manhattan and the bill’s sponsor.
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A BRIDGE FOR MARIO
Legislation to name the new Tappan Zee Bridge after the late Democratic Gov. Mario Cuomo passed the GOP-controlled Senate but did not get a vote in the Democrat-led Assembly.
Cuomo, the father of the current governor, was governor from 1983 through 1994 and died in 2015. His son pushed to build a new span to replace the aging Tappan Zee Bridge linking Rockland and Westchester counties north of New York City.
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DRUG CRIMES
The Senate passed - but the Assembly did not - a series of bills to crack down on drug dealing.
One bill would create a new crime of homicide for dealers who sell heroin or opioids responsible for fatal overdoses. Another would create special drug-free zones around rehabilitation facilities, creating greater penalties for dealers who try to exploit recovering addicts.
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ASSISTED SUICIDE
Advocates pushed hard for legislation that would allow individuals with a terminal illness to seek lethal drugs from a physician but the bill never got a vote.
Supporters say they will be back to try again, noting that assisted suicide is one of the more difficult topics for lawmakers to discuss and that it may take years of advocacy to win passage.
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ALCOHOL SALES IN THEATERS
Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo wanted to permit movie theaters to sell alcoholic beverages but the idea failed with Heastie, who cited concerns about drunken, unruly audience members.
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ETHICS, VOTING
Cuomo also vowed to reform the state’s antiquated voting rules this year but bills to authorize early voting or make it easier to register never made it to a full vote.
Proposals to crack down on Albany corruption also went nowhere.
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