Budget negotiations, universal child care, violence in schools, bail reform, the cannabis industry, public banking – these are just a few of the hot-button issues that the New York State Legislature is focusing on this session. State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes are championing many of these causes, while looking towards negotiations on a proposed budget that would be the largest in the state’s history.

In the wake of a shooting at Buffalo's McKinley High School, State Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes said this isn't the time to point fingers, but rather to work together to find solutions that move beyond administrators to engage students, parents and the community that surrounds them. Peoples-Stokes is also looking to make changes within the classroom by making it more diverse. She was instrumental in the start of "Buffalo’s Teacher Diversity Pipeline," which helps teachers’ aides and assistants get training and certification to teach in New York and she's hoping the pipeline will catch on in classrooms across the state, so students can see the diversity of the classroom reflected in their educators.

The Assembly majority leader is also looking to help New Yorkers get into the emerging cannabis business. Adult marijuana use was decriminalized in New York less than a year ago, opening the doors for a brand new industry in the state. And though licenses aren't available just yet, she said there are plenty of opportunities for entrepreneurs to start planning so they can hit the ground running.

Peoples-Stokes is also working towards the creation of a bank that meets the needs of all New Yorkers. She’s sponsoring a bill that would create a State of New York Public Bank, which would aim to put the public ahead of profits. The Assembly majority leader is also championing a major upstate infrastructure project to cover the Kensington Expressway in Buffalo and restore Humboldt Parkway. She is hopeful that some of the $1 billion set aside for infrastructure in the governor's proposed budget will be used to make it happen.

You can watch the full interview with State Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes on our website, or the Spectrum News App. Be sure to join JoDee Kenney for a look inside the biggest issues impacting Upstate, on In Focus New York—every Sunday on Spectrum News 1.