The state Senate held a hearing Wednesday on publicly-financed campaigns, an idea discussed in Albany for years but opposed by Senate Republicans.

Now Democrats control the chamber and the issue is getting a fresh look.

"Change has already begun in Albany," State Sen. Jessica Ramos of Queens said at a news conference after the hearing. "I think we can all admit that the freshman class of the state Senate is active, probably as much transparent as we can be, and we really are here to effectuate change."

But not everyone is on board. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie surprised those who have been advocating for public financing when he said earlier this month that he likely doesn't have enough votes to pass it.

Insiders say many Democratic Assembly members don't want primary opponents getting public funding and posing a threat to unseat them.

"I'd say some of the bigger concerns are we still have the world of independent expenditures. How do you account for that? How do you account for that type of spending?" Heastie said to members of the news media. "What should the match be? What do you do with matches outside of the state? There are a lot of open questions that members have."

Senate Republicans once estimated that a statewide public matching system would cost taxpayers $200 million in a gubernatorial election year. Democrats say the figure is lower.

"It depends on how many folks participate, but if we had every candidate for office in the state legislature participating, including the statewide elected officials as well this can cost anywhere between $60 and $100 million," State Sen. Zellnor Myrie of Brooklyn said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he wants campaign finance reform to be part of the budget, which is due at the end of the month.

"We have to move towards a public financing model. It is, as your question suggests, controversial. We have done a lot of reforms in regard to campaign financing," the governor said on WNYC's The Brian Lehrer Show. "But the best one is going to be public financing system and I hope we have progress on that in the budget."

Cuomo also points to last month's city public advocate race, which featured 17 candidates on the ballot, as a cautionary tale. There are 213 members of the state legislature and if they all had competitive races, that could get very expensive. New York City currently has an 8-to-1 match with public funds for small donations.