The state Legislature will not meet today and Tuesday as planned, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said in a statement.

The development comes as the Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo are facing a state budget deadline of April 1 amid the coronavirus pandemic that so far has accounted for more than 900 confirmed cases and left seven people dead.

Two Democratic lawmakers in the state Assembly have tested positive for coronavirus and the state Capitol will close to visitors effective Sunday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Speaker Carl Heastie said Saturday evening.

Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein, of Brooklyn, and Assemblyman Charles Barron, also of Brooklyn, are the lawmakers who have both tested positive.

State lawmakers could begin passing a bill mandating workers receive at least five days of paid sick leave in New York, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie on Tuesday said.

The bill is being amended to include those who have been quarantined due to the spread of coronavirus in the state, which now includes thousands of people.

A bill backed by Assemblyman Felix Ortiz would require health insurance companies to cover an extra month of prescriptions during a declared emergency stemming from coronavirus in New York.

“As we take steps to prepare for the coronavirus, we must include our personal health needs,” Ortiz said. “New Yorkers should not have to worry about refilling their prescriptions if they are self-quarantined or are required to stay home from work because of the coronavirus,” Ortiz added. “While we are asking people to stock-up on everyday household supplies, groceries and over-the counter medicines, we must make sure this includes prescribed medications. My bill ensures that New Yorkers will have an additional 30-day supply of their needed prescription medications.”

Queens Democratic Assemblywoman Nily Rozic this week introduced a bill that would expand the use of restraining orders to cover smart tech devices in domestic violence cases.

The proposal would prohibit people accused of domestic violence from activating smart devices in their homes, vehicles or property of survivors and victims.

State lawmakers on Monday evening were poised to approve a $40 million bill meant to help New York respond to a potential coronavirus outbreak in the state.

The bill was first proposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo last week, part of an effort to purchase equipment and other resources to repsond.

Assemblyman Marcos Crespo, the leader of the Bronx Democratic Committee, announced Friday he will not seek re-election to the seat he's held since 2009.

Crespo in a statement said he would "purse opportunities outside of government."

Republican Michael Lawler this week launched his bid for the Assembly seat held by Democrat Ellen Jaffee in Rockland County.

Lawler, the Orangetown deputy supervisor, is running on a platform of public safety, reducing taxes, seeking a fairer share of school aid funding from the state, and budget reforms.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie told reporters on Thursday he's meeting with district attorneys as part of a "listening stage" on the state's bail law.

"I'm in the listening stage," he said. "I've invited DAs and everybody to give me statistics on what's working."

Republican lawmakers in the state Senate and Assembly on Monday met privately with officials from the Department of Homeland Security, who aired concerns over acccess to the state's motor vehicle database.

Access to that database by entities like ICE is blocked by the state's Green Light Law, which allows undocumented immigrants to receive driver's licenses over concerns they would be targeted by federal immigration enforcement.

Democratic Assemblyman Peter Abbate and Assemblyman Tom Abinanti on Monday became the latest elected official in New York to back former Mayor Michael Bloomberg's presidential bid.

“I have worked with five different New York City mayors since taking office and none of them have done more to improve New Yorkers’ quality of life than Mike Bloomberg,” Abbate said in a statement. “Mike’s bold policies improved high school graduation rates, created hundreds of thousands of jobs for New Yorkers of all backgrounds and helped lift up the entire city after the devastating 9/11 attacks. Thanks to his visionary leadership, Brooklynites live in healthier and stronger communities. I know Mike will bring the same ‘get it done’ attitude to the White House, and I am honored to support him.”

Talks are being held over potential changes to the state's new law that ends cash bail for misdemeanor and non-violent felony offenses, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Friday.

At the same time, Cuomo continued to urge deliberation on the issue, which has become a flashpoint at the Capitol and in New York over the direction of the state's criminal justice system.

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins has appointed her conference's deputy, Queens Democrat Mike Gianaris, to the Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment.

Stewart-Cousins also appointed Phil Chonigman, a geographic systems professional who works on and specializes in political geography. She also appointed Eric Katz, the Senate Democratic conference's deputy counsel who oversees floor operations.

A top chamber of commerce leader in Seneca County on Tuesday evening announced his bid for retiring Assemblyman Brian Kolb's seat.

Seneca County Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jeff Shipley is seeking the Republican nomination for the seat, and pointed to what he said was a need for upstate voices in the Legislature, while criticizing Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Two dozen state lawmakers have signed a letter urging the Department of Homeland Security to no longer bar New Yorkers from applying or re-registering for trusted traveler status.

The letter, sent by Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, comes as Gov. Andrew Cuomo and President Donald Trump are yet to resolve the issue, which affects programs that enable people who have passed a background check to have easier travel through ports of entry and across borders.

A longtime legislative counsel to Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton on Monday announced his campaign for the seat she is vacating at the end of the year.

Democrat Jordan Lesser announced his intention to run for the district, which encompasses the Ithaca area.

Democrats last year, energized by their new majority in the state Senate, approved bill after bill of legislation that had been long-sought by the progressive left in New York.

And now two of the measures -- one allowing undocumented immigrants to apply for driver's licenses and a law that restricts cash bail to only violent felony charges -- are being challenged at multiple levels of government.

Republican Assembly Member Brian Kolb won't see re-election, he announced Thursday in a statement, a development that came a month and a half after he was charged with drunk driving on New Year's Eve.

The arrest led to Kolb stepping down from his minority leader post in the state Assembly, a job he had held for a decade. Republican lawmakers voted last month to replace him with Assembly Member Will Barclay in the top post.

The floated compromise by Senate Democrats that would change the state's new bail law landed with a thud with Democrats in the state Assembly on Wednesday.

Some blasted suburban lawmakers who had been pushing for changes to the six-week-old law that ended cash bail requirements for misdemeanor and non-violent charges.

Two Democratic lawmakers want legislation that would require passengers to buckle up in the backseat of a car, even when riding in an Uber or Lyft.

According to AAA New York, a person in a crash while riding in the backseat without their seat belt is eight times more likely to be seriously injured and twice as likely to be killed.

Every year, a similar drama unfolds: The governor proposes more spending for education, advocates say it isn't enough, lawmakers want tweaks that are meant to benefit their schools back home.

This year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to upend the process of how state government funds schools. He's calling for $826 million in extra funding, but that's only part of it.

A resolution that would urge Congress to abolish the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency was introduced Monday by Assemblyman Felix Ortiz.

The resolution comes as state lawmakers have sought ways of limiting the ability of ICE to bring enforcement actions in New York, including state courthouses.

Rochester Assemblyman David Gantt on Friday announced he would not seek another term for a seat he has held since 1983.

Gantt at a news conference cited his health and the advice of doctors to not continue in the chamber.

A sea of police uniforms covered the bottom portion of the grand staircase commonly referred at the Capitol as the Million Dollar Staircase.

The event, a press conference featuring Republican lawmakers in the state Senate and Assembly -- drew law enforcement leaders from around the state on Tuesday as opponents continued to press the issue of repealing the law that ends cash bail requirements for misdemeanors and non-violent felony offenses.

Longtime Republican Assemblyman Gary Finch will not seek re-election this fall, he said in a statement on Tuesday.

“It’s time,” Finch said. “I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. To maintain the trust of my constituents for over twenty years means something that’s difficult to even put into words.”

The new bail law, the subject of criticism from law enforcement, Republicans and increasingly some Democrats, should be given a chance beyond the first month or so of it being in effect, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie on Monday said.

"Right now it seems when the sun doesn't come up, everyone wants to blame the bail law," Heastie said.

Hiram Monserrate, the disgraced Democrat seeking a state Assembly seat, may find a potential return to Albany is a lonely one.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie on Monday said "a lot" of Democrats in his 100-plus member conference will likely oppose Monserrate's membership if he is elected to the chamber.

The Communications Workers of America District 1 on Friday came out with a 10-candidate slate of early endorsements for the state Assembly.

The labor group endorsed incumbent Assembly lawmakers: Nily Rozic, Aravella Simotas, Catherine Nolan, Catalina Cruz, Diana Richardson, Joe Lentol, Yuh-Line Niou, Linda Rosenthal, Harvey Epstein, and Karines Reyes.

A coalition of business groups on Thursday released a letter urging top lawmakers in the Assembly and Senate to not pass legislation that would reclassify workers in the so-called "gig" economy.

At issue is a push to provide traditional labor benefits and collective bargaining rights to workers who provide services for apps like Uber, Lyft and Grubhub. The move would come after California approved similar rules to address workers who the companies argue are independent contractors.

Activist, actress and former gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon on Thursday endorsed the half-dozen candidates endorsed by the New York City Democratic Socialists of America.

Those candidates backed by Nixon include Sen. Julia Salazar and Senate candidate Jabari Brisport, who is seeking to represent the district being vacated by retiring Sen. Velmanette Montgomery.

A bipartisan pair of state lawmakers on Thursday announced a plan to examine why people are moving out of New York.

Republican Sen. Jim Tedisco and Democratic Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, in a statement, pointed to the most recent Census figures that showed New York's population dropped by 76,790 residents in the previous year.

The state Assembly on Wednesday approved a package of bills meant to help people with disabilities.

The measures came with a bipartisan flourish, with both Speaker Carl Heastie and Minority Leader Will Barclay supporting the legislation.

A measure that would restrict state lawmakers from earning outside income should be put into effect by the legislature itself, Democratic Sen. Anna Kaplan said on Monday.

Kaplan's support for the move comes after a state court blocked a pay commission's provision that capped the amount of outside income lawmakers earn at 15 percent of their legislative salaries. Lawmakers now earn $110,000 annually.

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.

Republican Assemblyman Kieran Michael Lalor thinks there's a bias in the media slanted toward the left and that local news options in the Hudson Valley are lacking.

So, he took the step recently of starting his own news site.

Good morning! Here is what's happening around New York today.

At 10 a.m., Assembly Republicans will be joined by victims impacted by the new criminal justice reforms and law-enforcement officials to call for Assembly Democrats to address bail reforms that recently went into effect. LCA Press Room, Room 130, Legislative Office Building, Albany.

New York City Transit Authority President Andy Byford in Albany on Tuesday met for more than an hour with Assembly lawmakers in what was described as a blunt and occasionally contentious session.

Byford came to Albany at the request of Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie made a day earlier to meet with the Queens delegation about a proposed overhauling of the borough's bus routes.

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.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie's support for the cashless bail law amid a growing maelstrom may feel like a lonely stance in Albany these days. But on Friday, the speaker got some backing from a coalition of progressive organizations supporting his stance that the new law should not be scaled back.

“We applaud Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie for standing strong to support New York’s recently enacted pretrial reforms. These laws are reuniting thousands of families and reducing race-and wealth-based detention across New York," the groups wrote in the statement.

Republican Will Barclay on Tuesday was elected the leader of the state Assembly, taking the top post of the minority conference in the chamber.

He was unanimously elected.

Assemblywoman Amy Paulin became the latest Democrat in the state Legislature on Monday to back an alteration to the state’s newly enacted cash bail law by adding a judicial discretion component to the legislation.

Paulin, a Westchester County lawmaker, proposed the change to the law that ends cash bail requirements for misdemeanor and non-violent felony charges — a measure approved last year that has sparked an uproar among law enforcement, prosecutors and some elected officials.

The top Republican lawmaker in the state Assembly on Wednesday in a statement said he was charged with driving under the influence near his home in Canandaigua.

Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb in the statement said the incident occurred the previous night, New Year’s eve.

Republican Assemblyman Michael LiPetri on Wednesday announced his campaign for the Long Island House district being vacated by GOP Rep. Peter King at the end of 2020.

“I am proud to officially announce my candidacy for U.S. Congress!” LiPetri posted to Twitter. “In Washington, D.C., I will continue to serve as your fearless voice for independence and common-sense!”

The churn of so many state lawmakers running for Congress is creating some movement on the local level as well for candidates to replace them.

Democratic Bedford Supervisor Chris Burdick on Wednesday announced his campaign for the 93rd Assembly district in suburban Westchester County.

A bill approved on Wednesday by Gov. Andrew Cumo would bar new ballot lines from changing their names once created.

“New Yorkers have the right to know who and what exactly they’re voting for when they go to the ballot box,” Governor Cuomo said. “By making this simple change to our election laws, we can ensure political organizations don’t pull the wool over voters’ eyes by claiming to be something they are not in order to gain multi-year legal party status.”