New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday backed a measure that would legalize paid surrogacy, making her the latest high-ranking state official to endorse the proposal.

"The current proposal has been well-researched, well-written, and will not only support families, but provide critical legal and medical protections to surrogates, parents, and children,” James said in a statement. “I respect the legislative process and look forward to meeting with members of the legislature to address their concerns so we can move forward to adopt this proposal.”

A coalition of criminal justice reform groups on Wednesday is expected to push against any changes the state’s new cashless bail and discovery law changes.

The coalition, Justice Roadmap, urged top lawmakers in the state Assembly and Senate, along with Gov. Andrew Cuomo, to avoid “horse trading” on the issue in the budget negotiations.

The number of drivers involved in fatal crashes with THC in their systems doubled in Washington state following the legalization of cannabis there, a report released by AAA’s Foundation for Traffic Safety found.

The report has given new fuel to opponents of legalization of marijuana in New York, who have argued in part the traffic safety implications aren’t easily solved.

A change in the law is needed to combat the increase in hate crimes in New York, state Attorney General Letitia James said Wednesday at a forum on white nationalism and domestic terrorism.

“Given the rise in hate crimes, to sit idly by and do absolutely nothing to me is not the answer," James said at the forum, hosted by the New York State Bar Association.

Legalizing marijuana should be accomplished in the state budget agreement this year or may not get done at all in 2020, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday in a radio interview.

"The best way to get it done is to get it done in the budget," Cuomo said on WAMC. "The budget is more than just numbers; it's the single-most important piece of legislation that's passed during the year."

Supporters of marijuana legalization are hopeful this the year for the measure.

But many of the roadblocks the proposal ran into in 2019 remain largely the same in 2020.

Nearly one in four New Yorkers over the age of 50 skipped taking their prescription medications in the last two years. The main reason? Cost.

More than 80 percent of those polled by AARP, including Republicans, Democrats and Independents, said that the government is not doing enough to combat high prescription drug prices.

Less than 3 percent of stolen wages are recovered by the Department of Labor, according to a report by worker advocacy groups.

Led by Assemblywoman Latoya Joyner and Sen. Brad Hoylman, workers and lawmakers will rally at the Capitol tomorrow calling for the passage of the "Empowering People in Rights Enforcement Worker Protection Act" which supporters are calling EMPIRE.

New York will hold an international conference to help recover property stolen during Nazi persecution in Europe, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday announced.

The conference, to be held in May, was announced on International Holocaust Remembrance Day as Cuomo is in Poland to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

A coalition of groups backing the legalization of commercial surrogacy on Monday released a poll it commissioned finding New Yorkers support the move 63 percent to 13 percent.

At the same time, the poll found women support commercial surrogacy legalization 71 percent to 7 percent.

A letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo and the top legislative leaders in the Senate and Assembly urges them to legalize gestational surrogacy in New York.

The letter was signed by 256 women who have been surrogates themselves. The letter is being released later Thursday amid a renewed effort this year to legalize the process, which is backed once again by Cuomo as part of his agenda in the new year.

Good morning! It's going to be a busy first lobby day of the new year in Albany. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, meanwhile, is departing for Puerto Rico. Here's today's schedule: At 8:15 a.m., Gov. Andrew Cuomo will hold a press briefing before departing for Puerto Rico. JFK International Airport, Queens.

At 9:30 a.m., Assembly Real Property Taxation Committee Chair Sandy Galef will take testimony to examine changes to the STAR Program provided in the State Fiscal Year 2019-20 budget. Hearing Room C, Legislative Office Building, Albany.

The two leading progressive candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination on Wednesday pushed back publicly against efforts to alter New York's new bail law.

Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren posted to Twitter that it would be a mistake to roll back the law, which ended cash bail for misdemeanor and non-violent felony charges.

A bill approved Monday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo will establish a regulatory system for the sale and production of hemp and hemp-related products in the state amid the growing popularity of the ingredient in consumer products.

Meanwhile, Cuomo announced plans to hold a hemp summit in January to discuss policies related in the industry.