David Lombardo reports in the Albany Times Union that Gov. Andrew Cuomo released a $175 billion state budget Jan. 15, with many new initiatives expected to pass the legislature with only Democrats in control in Albany. "There's been a lot that's been bottled up for many, many years that we couldn't get done," Cuomo said during his "State of the State" speech. "In many ways, I feel the state has now been liberated with the Senate Democratic caucus." Cuomo's budget includes an increase in education spending, and sports betting in casinos. He would make Election Day a holiday and open polls upstate at 6 a.m., like the rest of the state. Cuomo's marijuana legalization proposal only allows corporations, not individuals, to grow the plant; allows counties and cities to opt out of selling it, and hopes to create $300 million in revenue starting in 2021. Democratic State Senators mostly liked the proposals, though they want to increase education spending by twice as much as Cuomo proposed. Read the full story in the Albany Times Union.