NY Assemblyman: AI chatbot law, venison bans, and redistricting concerns

John Lemondes — New York State Assembly

June 10, 2026 Paul Szmal 10:25

Assemblyman John Lemondes, whose district includes parts of the Finger Lakes region, is pictured in an official portrait.

New York Assemblyman John Lemondes stopped by the FLX Morning Podcast for his monthly visit, offering a candid look at the chaotic end of the 2026 state legislative session — including a landmark AI bill, a controversial push to ban venison donations, and what he calls a dangerous consolidation of one-party power through redistricting.

Lemondes, who represents a district that includes Onondaga County, said the session’s final stretch was grueling. The state budget arrived late, forcing lawmakers to rush through more than 600 pieces of legislation before adjourning. He said he was back in Albany as late as Sunday before the session was finally over for him.

Among the session’s highlights, Lemondes singled out a unanimous vote on what he called the “AI chatbot bill” as the standout achievement. The legislation targets artificial intelligence systems that interact with children without making clear they are not human. Lemondes cited documented cases of children being manipulated into self-harm and isolation by AI systems posing as friends. “There have already been children who have died because of this technology,” he said, adding that the unanimous vote was a rare example of government doing right by its constituents. He expressed hope that the law would mark the beginning of broader AI guardrails, while acknowledging the need to balance regulation with business interests.

On redistricting, Lemondes was sharply critical of recently passed legislation, arguing the new maps will further entrench one-party rule across New York. He pointed to Onondaga County as an example, suggesting it may never seat a Republican judge again under the redrawn boundaries. He also tied the issue to broader population decline, noting that New York’s congressional delegation has shrunk from 33 seats in 1850 to 26 today.

Lemondes also addressed a legislative effort — ultimately tabled this session — that would have banned donations of venison killed with lead bullets to food pantries. He pushed back hard on the proposal, arguing it was an indirect attack on hunting and Second Amendment rights disguised as a public health measure. He noted that Onondaga County’s food pantry relies heavily on donated venison to feed residents. He also connected reduced hunting activity to surging deer-vehicle collisions, noting he has personally struck eight deer over the past 12 to 13 years.

Lemondes returns monthly for updates on state legislation. Residents can contact the New York State Assembly for more information on bills discussed.

Read Full Transcript

Paul Szmal: We're joined this morning by Assemblyman John Lamondis for his monthly visit. Good morning Assemblyman, how are you this morning?

Guest: I am fantastic, thank you for having me.

Paul Szmal: Yeah, it's much appreciated as always. I wanted to start by kind of getting your take on the end of the legislative session. The budget didn't pass until there was, what, a week left, and then you had to bulldoze through 600-some-odd pieces of legislation before the end of the session.

Guest: Right, and it was tough, it really was. The governor's lack of commitment to the budget really hurt all of the people of the state because the number of bills that were not taken care of was significant. And many of us were right back there. We left on Friday, many of us had follow-up meetings back there. I was back on Sunday, so it was finally over for me on Sunday completely. But I think overall, I don't know how much detail you want to go into, but the best bill that was passed, in my opinion, was the AI chat box bill. I think that really will thwart some of these algorithms from manipulating children. That's the whole intent of that bill.

Paul Szmal: Yeah, let's expand upon that a little bit. So you have kids primarily interacting with computers, not understanding that the voice on the other end or the writing on the other end is not coming from a human. And there have been horrible, horrible instances of kids being talked into suicide, talked into not seeking help from adults, not letting their teachers know, their parents know, their siblings know, you know, just talk to me, I'm your friend. And the fact that we are positively stepping in the right direction, and this vote was unanimous, if I'm not mistaken, I don't think anybody voted against it, thank God. You know, it's putting the AI industry to some respect. I notice that you have to have guardrails, you know, our children's health is important to all of us, and your kids, my kids, everybody. And so I think that was a really good thing. You know, there's a lot that we talk about that goes wrong, of course. There's political stuff. But this is an example of where government did the right thing for the people of this state. Do you think maybe this is the start of more guardrails around AI?

Guest: I hope so. But you know, the business side, we don't forget, I'm a business owner also, and I can't stand over regulation, which we have a plethora of in the state. And in cases like this, where, you know, there have already been children who have died because of this technology, we need to stop that. I think it's the, you know, it's the right thing to do. And those, I don't know enough about AI to know exactly where those guardrails should be. But we need them. And I don't think anybody, I don't think anybody would argue that.

Paul Szmal: I sure hope not. We're talking with Assemblyman John Lamondis here on FLX Morning. A couple of things that we haven't touched on in previous conversations. We've heard the stories from Texas, California, the Carolinas, and other places about redistricting. What would be the current temperature of that here in New York State?

Guest: I think the bills that were voted on were incredibly damaging, you know, and it boils down to now with this question, I have to go political. It boils down to the further consolidation of one party rule. You know, for example, my county Onondaga, not far from you, is probably never going to see a Republican judge ever again. And if anybody thinks that that's good, you know, I got to say, the reason we have a two-party system is for there to be natural positive tension, you know. And I mean that where that, you know, when you're negotiating anything, usually the answer is in the middle somewhere. It's not on either extreme. And the consolidation of power that these bills will enable, I think, are really bad for us and really damaging.

Paul Szmal: Is there a way that the federal court system could step in should something like this occur in New York?

Guest: I don't know. I, you know, I'm sure people are looking at that, but, you know, when you look at what has happened, how it's happened, the majorities in both the Senate and the Assembly and some of the horrendous, horrendous policies that have been passed, you know, let me just use one example, the energy policies that the governor has been going after. These are driving people out of their homes and driving people and businesses out of our state. And it's just another example. I mean, that's not directly tied to what we're talking about here with redistricting. But when you start adding all of these things up, this is why people are leaving. And at the end of the day, when you look at the congressional map, and we had 33 congressional representatives, I think, in 1850, and we've got 26 now, that should send alarm bells through everybody's head.

Paul Szmal: Wanted to ask you about some efforts in the Assembly to stop venison donations. This is actually the first I'm hearing of this issue.

Guest: Yeah. So the again, my colleagues on the left have decided that this is this boils down to an attack on the Second Amendment and hunting in general. And there are many it comes under many, many different words and ideas and bills. But its essence is that it's an attack on the Second Amendment and hunting. So what it what it is trying to do is it's claiming that any deer taken by a lead bullet is contaminated and therefore that that lead that venison if donated to one of the food pantries where again, I'm citing Onondaga County, our food pantry here delivers tons of donated venison to to their to their clientele and they feed a lot of people a lot of high quality meat. And so the left is trying to take that under the guise of public health, take that source away where, again, the real the real angle here is stop hunting, stop firearms ownership, stop the Second Amendment under a different name. And this is really criminal in what they're doing because they're willing to starve the people that they that they that they say they're trying to protect.

Paul Szmal: Would that also, Assemblywoman, would that also cover things like donations from hunters to zoos, animal preserves, things of that nature, too?

Guest: It could. You know, there's no way to know where it's going to go. It got killed here. It didn't come forward. That was one of the several hundred bills that did not make it to the floor. But we were ready to debate it and debate it vigorously. And the worst part about it is, is when you have anti hunters running around screaming about anti hunting. We have a significant overpopulation of deer, the likes of which we've never had before because the number of hunters has decreased. They're making it so hard. You know, they're making the cost of ammunition is so high. And non-lead alternatives to ammunition are wonderful. But humans have been eating game killed by lead bullets for, I don't know, 400 years, 300 years, you know, whenever the modern firearms were invented. And so we obviously haven't been killing ourselves as we've been eating game and subsisting on game taken by by lead shot and lead bullets. And the last piece of this is is a public safety piece where every deer that's not taken by a hunter significantly impacts road safety because every I'm going to flip it around now. Every deer taken by a hunter saves a family of four on our roadways. We have thousands of deer vehicle collisions every year, and they're increasing because the number of deer taken are decreasing.

Paul Szmal: Now, you have put your finger on the single biggest thing my wife worries about driving after dark. Right. And, Paul, you know, I live in a rural area and I'm driving everywhere because of my assembly job. I have hit, you know, I'm sure some people won't believe this. I have personally hit eight deer in 13 years, I think, 12 or 13 years.

Guest: Yeah. Yeah. That is that is definitely a problem. Matter of fact, I just saw four roaming around the backyard behind the radio station this morning.

Paul Szmal: John, I wish you the best as you hopefully get a chance to get a little bit of a breather after a pretty intensive end of session and get some opportunities to get around the district, meet with constituents, things of that nature. And we'll touch base again next month.

Guest: All right. Thank you very much for having me. I really appreciate it.