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Albany legislative session comes to an end

The state legislature ended their 2012 session Thursday evening as lawmakers had promised, but they did not manage to finish everything on their list before they left.

Governor Andrew Cuomo calls the 2012 legislative session the most successful in “modern political history,” and a “magnificent accomplishment.”

“We did what we said we would do,” Cuomo said.

Lawmakers in the final hours agreed to approve the governor’s bill to publicly disclose teacher evaluations,  but Cuomo failed to persuade the Republican-led Senate to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana. 

“We’re ending the session with a bang, not a bong,” quipped Senate Leader Dean Skelos.

There was partying involved as the session wound down, but of the legal kind. Cuomo held an end-of-session celebration for Assembly members and Senators at the governor’s mansion.

Karen DeWitt is Capitol Bureau Chief for New York State Public Radio, a network of 10 public radio stations in New York State. She has covered state government and politics for the network since 1990.
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