Gov. Hochul's 4th State of State address to focus on affordability
The New York State Capitol in Albany is seen on June 30, 2022. Credit: AP/Hans Pennink
ALBANY – Gov. Kathy Hochul will present her fourth State of the State address on Tuesday, proposing to make New York more affordable and safer, while advancing climate change measures.
Legislators expect Hochul to also outline other thorny political issues, including her idea to ban cell phones in classrooms and to revamp the school aid formula. A spokesperson for Hochul said Monday night she will not address the cell phone ban in her address. Changing state school aid could eventually end the practice protected by the State Legislature for decades that assured every school district would get at least as much state aid as in the prior year, even if enrollment and costs declined.
Hochul is scheduled to begin her speech at 1 p.m. at the Hart Theater in the Empire State Plaza.
Legislative leaders say Hochul also will have to negotiate with them over part of the congestion pricing program begun this month. The program charges a $9 base fee to enter the most congested part of Manhattan with the revenue to go to capital projects such as station and track improvements for mass transit in New York City, on Long Island and in the northern suburbs.
During this six-month session, Hochul will have to negotiate that capital plan with legislative leaders.
The Democratic governor and the Democratic majorities of the Senate and Assembly already agree that affordability will be a major theme.
“My top priority is tackling New York’s affordability crisis,” Hochul said. “The cost of living is just too damn high, so I'm doing everything in my power to make New York more affordable for families.”
She has already announced some of her proposals, including:
- $300 to $500 checks for households earning up to $150,000 to help compensate for inflation and lingering high prices. She said 8.6 million New Yorkers would get the one-time checks, including 1.3 million Long Islanders.
- Tripling the child tax credit to $1,000 for households with children under 4 years old and a tax credit of up to $500 for households with children 4 to 16 years old.
- Free breakfast and lunch for all public school children, serving 2.7 million and easing their families’ food bills.
She also plans to address a spike in subway violence by giving law enforcement and the courts greater authority to send people to mental health facilities if they pose a danger to themselves or others. Advocates for the mentally ill and for civil rights already have concerns about the plan.
In her environmental agenda, Hochul said she wants to protect the state’s growing wind energy facilities off Long Island and upstate, as well as speed other measures to wean New York off fossil fuels and into a lower emissions future. But she said that effort will put her on a collision course with Trump, who has said he opposes wind power and supports the gas and petroleum industry, which helped fund his Republican presidential runs.
“I can’t say, ‘I’m not going to work with you because I disagree with you,’” Hochul told college students a discussion near Albany on Monday. “But if they do anything to harm us, I will stand up and fight because I have to, especially when it comes to the environment.”
Other issues on which New York’s Democrats will potentially clash with Trump include Trump’s promise to deport immigrants without proper documentation and to further protect abortion rights.
Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.
'I had to keep my mouth shut' Ronnie Tanner, a horse jockey in the '60s and '70s, and Kendrick Carmouche, a current jockey, spoke about the racism Black jockeys have faced. NewsdayTV's Jamie Stuart reports.
'I had to keep my mouth shut' Ronnie Tanner, a horse jockey in the '60s and '70s, and Kendrick Carmouche, a current jockey, spoke about the racism Black jockeys have faced. NewsdayTV's Jamie Stuart reports.
