Times that New York state has cribbed ideas for laws from New York City

Good ideas can come from anywhere; maybe a spark of personal inspiration … or liberally borrowing from others. In New York state, New York City tends to be on the vanguard of new ideas. Before state legislators in Albany decide to give a policy a go, it’s not uncommon to see that the city did it first. In some cases, like matching campaign donations, the city beat the state to the punch by decades. Here is a rundown of five pieces of legislation where New York City led the way while New York state trailed behind.

Smoking ban

New York City implemented a ban on smoking in virtually all workplaces in 2002, and the state followed suit in 2004 with a general ban on all smoking indoors. Rest in peace 20th century foggy bar vibe. You will not be missed, but we may remember you nostalgically when watching old movies.

All-electric buildings

In 2019, the New York City Council passed Local Law 97, a plan to reduce greenhouse emissions in new and existing buildings beginning in 2024, with stricter regulations starting in 2030. In 2023, the state passed a version of the All-Electric Buildings Act, which will ban fossil fuel usage in new buildings less than seven stories tall at the end of 2025 and taller buildings by the end of 2028.

Matching funds

While the New York City Campaign Finance Board established a matching funds program in 1988, the state didn’t start giving candidates a boost until 2022, but when they did they made up for it by giving even more. While the city multiplies a resident’s donations of up to $200 by eight times, the state multiplies donations of up to $250 anywhere from six times to 12 times, depending on the office and the amount contributed.

Landmark protection

The New York City Landmarks Law was enacted in 1965 to protect historic landmarks and neighborhoods from demolition or significant renovations that would alter a site’s character. In 1980, the New York State Preservation Act was passed, which declared historic preservation to be in the public interest of the state. The old Penn Station tragically missed the preservation train by just a couple years as its demolition began in 1963.

Banning legislators’ outside income

In 2016, the New York City Council voted to give itself a fat pay raise, increasing the salaries of members to a base of $148,500. In exchange, they agreed to forgo outside income with only a few exceptions starting in 2018. That put pressure on the state Legislature to do so as well. They eventually followed suit in 2022 … sort of. Legislators voted to bump their pay up to $142,000 at the end of 2022, tied to a cap of $35,000 on outside income. But Republicans sued over that provision in 2023, and in July this year, a judge put the cap on outside income on hold, since it was set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.