Hochul's State of State message proposes ways NYS government can improve

ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul outlined a 2024 agenda Tuesday that could be called making a difference, however small, in New Yorkers’ everyday lives.

With residents skeptical of government, the Democrat proposed a laundry list of ways she believes state government can improve:

Cracking down on retail theft, expanding home health care, eliminating co-payments for insulin, creating prenatal leave for new parents, increasing access to swimming pools, expanding inpatient mental health care, planting more trees and streamlining liquor licenses.

It’s a lengthy agenda that may not include home runs but rather is focused on singles and bunts. She unveiled her wish list in the governor’s annual State of the State address, delivered to a packed State Assembly chamber in Albany.

“Working together, we will provide a better life to New Yorkers, with a common-sense agenda focused on fighting crime, fixing our mental health system, and protecting New Yorkers’ hard-earned money,” the Democrat, entering her third full year in office, said.

As is customary with State of the State addresses, Hochul’s plans were broad on ideas but didn’t contain specifics for funding them. That will come next Tuesday when she proposes a budget for the state’s 2024-25 fiscal year. Unlike in recent years, the state will be facing a roughly $4 billion deficit, since federal COVID-19 pandemic aid has dried up.

Hochul touched on a wide range of topics, including education, consumer protection, job training and social media. She offered ideas to address long-running problems with mental health treatment and crime. She proposed planting 25,000 trees over the next decade as part of the fight against climate change.

On a different front, Hochul said she'd team with Attorney General Letitia James to back legislation to curb what she called social media's harmful impacts on minors.

“This legislation will require social media companies to restrict addictive features that harm young users the most. The legislation will allow users under 18 to receive a default chronological feed from users they already follow — the same way that social media feeds functioned before the advent of addictive feeds,” Hochul said.

In all, she said her written address contained 204 policy initiatives, which she joked about, saying “yes, 204 — policy initiatives in our 2024 State of the State book, which I’m sure will find its way to your nightstands this evening.”

But, notably, in an election year for the State Legislature and Congress, she stayed away from red meat issues that might become campaign fodder. For instance, she didn’t mention the issue of migrants being bused to New York from the southern U.S. border, though her administration said she will when she unveils a state budget proposal.

Even with her proposal to build more housing across the state, Hochul — unlike last year — stayed away from hitching it to a specific number of new units.

In a related item, Hochul said she wants a reconfigured New York City real estate tax credit to spur building, following the expiration of a controversial tax break known as “421-a.” But, again, the details will have to wait until budget negotiations.

On crime, Hochul sought to tout progress New York has made — falling crime rates after a pandemic spike — while acknowledging fighting a perception about crime increases.

“Although we’ve made great strides to take guns off our streets, too many parents are fearful as their children get on the bus each morning. And too often, troubled individuals are discharged from the hospital without receiving the care they need and go on to commit violent acts,” the governor said. “The potential of a crime, no matter how serious, is causing anxiety for our residents.”

As part of her anti-crime agenda, the governor called for expanding the list of offenses that could be prosecuted as hate crimes.

“We propose to make more than two dozen additional offenses — from gang assaults to graffiti — eligible for prosecution as hate crimes. This means enhanced liability and sentences and ultimately standing up for what is right,” the governor said.

Further, she wants to pass legislation to make it easier to shutdown unlicensed cannabis shops that have sprouted since the state decriminalized marijuana for adults. She also wants to crack down on unscrupulous lenders who specialize in “buy now, pay later” financing.

She also proposed to lift a state cap on the number of State Supreme Court judges — which, despite its name, means trial court judges in New York. This would require a constitutional amendment approved by voters.

But she spent more time focusing on what she called “organized retail theft,” which is hitting stores large and small. She noted such thefts spiked right after the pandemic began, growing 20% in 2022; it leveled off in 2023, growing just 3% outside of New York City.

Hochul wants to launch a law-enforcement team, headed by state police and modeled on a state task force on gun trafficking. She also wants to provide county district attorneys with funding dedicated to prosecuting organized retail theft.

The plan also includes toughening penalties for assaulting a retail worker and fostering online sales of stolen goods, as well as tax credits for businesses that hire more security personnel.

“These attacks are nothing more than a breakdown of the social order,” Hochul said. “I say ‘No more.’ This chaos must end.”

It was one of the few passages that earned praise from Republican lawmakers.

“This, I can get behind this. Well done,” Assemb. Mark Walczyk (R-Watertown) wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Minority Leader Will Barclay (R-Pulaski) had a more typical GOP response: “What we didn’t hear today is what should alarm New Yorkers. With a $4 billion budget gap, there was no commitment to keep state spending in check. Illegal migrants are crossing the southern border in droves, but New York has yet to figure out how to properly handle the ongoing influx. Despite New York owning the nation’s worst out-migration numbers, there is no concrete plan to ease financial pressures on families and businesses.” 

By Yancey Roy

yancey.roy@newsday.com@yanceyroy