ALBANY – If there was a theme to the state Legislature's 2019 session at the Capitol, it was this: Elections have consequences.

Democrats took control of the Senate for the first time since 2010 after a dominating performance at the polls last year, knocking Republicans out of power and giving Democrats full control of state government.

The change was immediately evident, with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and lawmakers approving a series of progressive-minded measures in January, including a slate of gun-control bills, abortion protections and voting reforms.

It continued through the end of the legislative session this week, when lawmakers passed measures to decriminalize — but not legalize — marijuana and allow undocumented immigrants to apply for driver's licenses.

"At the end of the day, democracy works," said Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris, D-Queens. "We have had as a result the most progressive and productive session that's ever been in New York state."

Republicans see it differently.

“Here’s the good news: the six months from hell for upstate New York is over," said Sen. James Tedisco, R-Glenville, Schenectady County.

Here are 20 bills approved this year by New York's Democrat-led government:

1) Expansion of abortion protections

In January, New York helped reinvigorate the national debate over abortion when lawmakers approved the Reproductive Health Act, a measure bolstering abortion protections by installing Roe v. Wade rights into state law and removing penalties from the state penal code.

Advocates cheered the new law as a protection of a woman's right to choose, something they said was long overdue. Opponents, including Republican and Catholic leaders, decried it as a gross expansion of abortion rights.

More:Abortion law in New York: What the Reproductive Health Act does and doesn't do

2) Protections for renters

Lawmakers made New York's rent-stabilization law permanent earlier this month and expanded it statewide.

The new law gives cities, towns and villages across the state the ability to opt in to the program that allows a board to limit annual rent increases for tenants living in most multi-unit apartment buildings built before 1974.

Previously, the program applied only to New York City and some suburban counties, including Westchester and Rockland.

More:Renters across New York state are about to get new protections from eviction

3) Marijuana decriminalization

New York wasn't able to fully legalize marijuana, as some Democratic lawmakers and activists had pushed.

But legislators did further reduce penalties for marijuana possession, limiting them to no more than a violation and a $200 fine for possessing less than two ounces of the drug.

More:Why legalizing marijuana in New York failed, but decriminalizing it passed

4) Voting reforms, including early voting

Starting this fall, each county will be required to open some polling places nine days prior to an election, making New York the 38th state to offer early voting.

Lawmakers and Cuomo also unified the state's primary day in June. In recent years, New York's federal and state-level primaries had been on different days.

More:Voting in New York: Five major changes are coming soon

5) Sexual harassment, rape law changes

Boosted by advocacy from the Sexual Harassment Working Group — former legislative aides subjected to harassment — lawmakers voted to expand the state's anti-harassment laws, removing a standard that protected employers unless the conduct was "severe or pervasive."

Cuomo and the Legislature also voted to lengthen the statute of limitations for second- and third-degree rape.

More:Five laws New York may pass to bolster the rights of women and the LGBTQ community

6) Equal pay for equal work

Lawmakers passed a bill that will require employers to pay their workers equally if they perform "substantially similar work, regardless of their sex or gender.

Employers will also be banned from requesting a prospective employee's salary history when setting pay rates.

More:Workplace harassment: 10 things New York wants to do about it

7) Child Victims Act

The Child Victims Act, signed into law in January, relaxed the state's strict statute of limitations on sexual crimes against children and will soon open up a one-year window to revive past claims of any age.

The bill had long stalled in the Legislature despite a concerted, yearslong push by victims.

More:Child Victims Act: Here's how it could let survivors seek justice in New York

8) An end to the religious exemption for vaccinations

The nationwide measles outbreak was centered in two places: Brooklyn and Rockland County, home to large Orthodox Jewish populations with lower-than-average vaccination rates.

So this month, lawmakers voted to end the state's religious exemption to vaccinations that are required to attend school, which allowed parents to avoid vaccinating their children by claiming it violates their religious beliefs.

More:New York repeals religious exemption for school vaccinations

9) Driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants

This was one of the more controversial votes of the legislative session.

The Legislature voted to allow undocumented immigrants to apply for driver's licenses by using valid, foreign documents like passports to prove their identity and age instead of a Social Security Number.

Cuomo signed the bill into law late Monday night. It takes effect in six months.

More:New York repeals religious exemption for school vaccinations

10) Gun control

One of the first thing Democrats did in January was pass a new slate of gun-control measures, six years after the state broadened its assault-weapons ban with the SAFE Act.

Under the new laws, police, family members and some school officials will be able to seek a court order to remove guns from a person deemed a harm to themselves or others. Teachers, meanwhile, are now legally prohibited from carrying guns in schools, ending a push by some to arm them.

More:New gun-control laws in New York: Find out what is planned six years after the SAFE Act

11) Property-tax cap

New York's property-tax cap, which limits annual increases to the lesser of 2 percent or the rate of inflation, had been set to expire next year.

No longer. Cuomo and lawmakers permanently extended the cap as part of the state budget in March.

More:Property-tax cap in New York expected to be made permanent

12) DREAM Act

Immigrants brought into the country illegally as children are now eligible for college tuition aid from New York if they attended high school in the state.

Called the DREAM Act, the program lets those without lawful immigration status to apply for New York's tuition assistance, including TAP and the Excelsior Scholarship.

More:New York to make college tuition aid available to 'DREAMers'

13) Cash bail

Prison advocates have long railed against a law that requires cash bail in the cases of minor arrests, which can lead inmates who can't afford it to linger in prison.

So the state ended cash bail for most crimes as part of a host of criminal justice reforms that also included speeding up trials and helping parolees get jobs.

More:Watch: Cuomo discusses ending cash bail in New York

14) Gravity knives

New York had a decadeslong ban on gravity knives, but no longer.

Cuomo signed legislation that makes it legal to carry folding knives, removing it the "dangerous weapons" category under the state's penal law.

Cuomo's approval came after a federal judge earlier this year ruled the ban was unconstitutional, determining the ban can impact workers who carry folding knives for their jobs.

More:Why New York just made gravity knives legal

15) Climate change

The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act will install some of the nation's most ambitious goals to combat climate change into law, requiring the state to cut 85% of its greenhouse-gas emissions (from 1990 levels) by 2050 and approve green projects that offset the other 15%.

Environmentalists say it is a bold step to fight back against climate change, warning that the cost of doing nothing will be greater than the short-term costs. Power-plant owners and businesses are among those who are wary of the increased costs.

More:What New York's new climate change law means for you

16) LGBTQ rights

New York passed a host of laws to provide better protections for the LGBTQ community.

One will end the “gay panic” defense in criminal cases, which had allowed defendants to try to claim a physical attack on a person was induced because they were surprised by a person’s gender or sexual orientation.

Earlier in the year, the Legislature also passed GENDA, which adds gender identity and expression to New York's anti-discrimination laws. Another law, on conversion therapy, will prohibit mental health professionals from engaging in sexual orientation change efforts.

More:Five laws New York may pass to bolster the rights of women and the LGBTQ community

17) LLC loophole

New York has had some of the most porous campaign-finance laws in the nation. Those who controlled multiple limited liability companies were able to skirt donation limits.

Now, LLC contributions will be limited to $5,000, and LLCs will need to better disclose who are funding them.

More:Voting in New York: Five major changes are coming soon

18) E-scooters

This one's not quite a done deal.

Lawmakers voted to allow e-scooters and pedal-assist bicycles in the state, allowing local governments to opt in to let companies like Bird and Lime to operate on their streets.

But Cuomo said Friday he has safety concerns about the bill and didn't commit to signing it into law.

More:New York lawmakers to pass bill legalizing e-scooters, e-bikes

19) Cat-declawing ban

No longer will cat owners be able to declaw their pets in New York.

The Legislature voted to ban the practice, in which most of the last bone and tendons, nerves and ligaments on the cat's front feet are surgically removed. The bill is awaiting Cuomo's signature.

More:'Cruel and unnecessary': New York set to become first state to ban cat declawing

20) Standardized tests

The Legislature in January ended any connection between teacher evaluations and student test scores.

Teachers, parents and students have long railed against having lessons taught merely to boost test scores. So the new law will no longer require schools to use test scores as part of a teacher's evaluation, making it optional for districts and subject to collective bargaining.

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JCAMPBELL1@Gannett.com

More:Teacher evaluations in New York: How they will be decoupled from student test scores