In the end, Senator Liz Krueger says lawmakers didn't have the votes or the time to mount a full legalization of marijuana that would have introduced the retail cannabis industry to New York.
"We ran out of time. The governor was very inconsistent with whether he wanted it or not and because we couldn't lay out a final, this is what everyone can agree to," Krueger said.
The result was decried by advocates like Kassandra Frederique, who staged a die-in outside of the Assembly chamber.
"Our leaders, the governor's office and the Legislautre, didn't have the courage to bring something forward that was actually going to deal with the full harms associated with marijuana criminalization," Frederique said, Drug Policy Alliance.
But lawmakers on Wednesday moved to pass bills that would expand and strenghten the hemp industry as well as medical marijuana. Assemblywoman Pat Fahy backs a bill decriminalize marijuana possession and expunge records for past offenses.
"The single biggest reason for making changes in our marijuana laws really should be to correct the historic wrongs," Fahy said.
As the session ends, deals came together to expand prevailing wage laws to any construction project that includes public funding. It was cheered by labor unions, but upstate business interests, like Michael Kracker of Unshackle Upstate, blasted a one-year carve out for New York CIty.
"This is a really a worst case scenario for upstate New York economic development. You have the most economically distressed region of New York state which is going to hurt development, meanwhile you get a carve out for economically thriving New York City," Kracker said.
And on Wednesday, lawmakers voted to approve a bill expanding labor rights for farm workers; including paying them overtime and allowing them to collective bargain. The New York Farm Bureau is upset with the agreement. Senator Jessica Ramos called it fair.
"We've made sure that we included every stakeholder, farmers and farm workers alike you make sure that the farm workers rights are protected, but also so that the farrmers are able to thrive," Ramos said.