Hochul's 2024 plans

Jan 09, 2024

With help form Jason Beeferman

New York Governor Kathy Hochul speaks during the State of the State address in Albany, N.Y.

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s 2024 State of the State address touched on housing, crime and mental health, but left out big topics like handling the migrant crisis. | AP

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s third State of the State address helped set Albany’s agenda for 2024 — with a focus on housing, crime and mental health.

Yet it was also notable for what it didn’t include. Big topics such as how the state will handle the migration surge and the $4 billion deficit will have to wait until her budget plan next week.

“Clearly she doesn’t have a solution,” Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay said of the migrant issue. “That’s why she didn’t mention it, but she’s going to have to deal with it.”

The speech also made clear that she’s not giving up on her 2023 efforts to build more housing, even if she’s planning a less aggressive approach. Rather than forcing towns to allow higher density units, she now wants to limit their access to more pools of state money if they don’t permit these.

Officials at all levels of government are remaining optimistic there will be a deal of sorts this time around.

“It’s controversial not to deal with it,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said. “Housing is a real issue, we’re hemorrhaging New Yorkers because of it.”

Hochul also dedicated much of her speech to efforts to crack down on crimes, such as retail theft.

“Let’s back our businesses and punish those who think they can break the rules with impunity,” said the Democratic governor, who wants a tax break for businesses to cover security costs.

And she’s doubling down on past efforts to improve mental health coverage.

“From Brooklyn to Buffalo, many New Yorkers are suffering,” she said, saying there should be more treatment options in schools, as well.

The governor highlighted some of the proposals she’s rolled out in recent weeks, such as a ban on copays for insulin, that resonated with the Democratic-led Legislature.

“I’m very glad on issues around medical debt, on issues of insulin, these are bills I’ve been leaning on for the last couple of years,” said Sen. Gustavo Rivera (D-Bronx). But, he added, “I’ve been around too long – I’ll wait to see what’s actually in the budget language.”

As with every State of the State, there were dozens of other proposals in Hochul’s briefing book — 204, to be exact — dealing with everything from the creation of a commission to celebrate the Erie Canal’s bicentennial to the construction of more swimming pools.

An on-time state budget is due by April 1.

“I like to swim, too,” Barclay said. “But is that really going to change the way New York solves its outmigration crisis, I don’t think so."

From the Capitol

Assembly Sgt-at-Arms greets former Gov. George Pataki in Albany.

Former Republican Gov. George Pataki reunited with the longtime Assembly Sgt.-at-Arms Wayne Jackson before Gov. Kathy Hochul's 2024 State of the State address. | Nick Reisman/POLITICO

PATAKI WATCH: Longtime Assembly Sgt.-at-Arms Wayne Jackson greeted a former member of the chamber in Albany to watch Hochul’s State of the State address: Former Gov. George Pataki.

The last Republican to win statewide in New York (and a former member of the state Assembly and state Senate) warmly embraced Jackson, who jokingly asked for Pataki’s ID.

He avoided any advice or criticism of the state’s incumbent chief executive as he walked into the Assembly.

“I’m just here to listen,” Pataki said when asked if he thought Hochul should push the Biden administration harder to address the migrant crisis facing New York.

Pataki was not the only former governor to watch Hochul’s speech in person. Former Gov. David Paterson, fresh off a musical performance at an Albany tavern Monday night, was also on hand. — Nick Reisman

ABORTION RIGHTS: Hochul wants to ensure that New York is a “safe harbor” for those seeking or providing abortion care.

“Abortion providers face administrative burdens and share concerns about date privacy, exacerbated by the increased demand and attention on abortion care services,” Hochul said in her State of the State book.

To tackle these issues, Hochul addressed concerns about data privacy. She noted she plans to direct the state Department of Health to modernize its technology of electronic reporting of induced pregnancy termination in order to eliminate the need to replicate information from physical and digital form as a way to provide safeguards for sensitive abortion-related information.

Included in this year’s budget, Hochul made moves to protect abortion access by increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates, and improved data protection for patients seeking reproductive care. Also included in the current budget was $100.7 million to support abortion providers and reproductive health care. — Shawn Ness

FROM CITY HALL

Floyd Bennett Field's migrant shelter is finally up and running, with the first families set to arrive later this week.

Brooklyn's Floyd Bennett Field migrant shelter in late October. Ahead of a major storm, 1,900 migrants were evacuated from the shelter today. | Jason Beeferman/POLITICO

STORM THREATENS MIGRANT SITE: About 1,900 migrants, including families with children, were evacuated today from the Floyd Bennett Field emergency shelter in Brooklyn as a storm with wind speeds of over 70 mph was forecast to roll in.

A spokesperson for Adams said the temporary relocation is initiated out of an abundance of caution.

The migrants were bused to Madison High School.

Floyd Bennett Field, where a tent complex was erected, has been susceptible in the past to bad weather.

The Legal Aid Society saw Tuesday’s move as further proof that the site is unfit for migrants, saying, “Floyd Bennett Field – a facility mired in a flood zone, miles from schools and other services – has never and will never serve as an appropriate and safe place to shelter families with children.” — Emily Ngo

CRACKING DOWN ON ILLEGAL WEED: Hochul wants to strengthen enforcement against the state’s rampant illicit cannabis market, she said during her State of the State address.

Hochul said she would propose legislation aimed at expediting the closure of unlicensed cannabis storefronts by giving more enforcement powers to the Office of Cannabis Management as well as local governments.

Case in point: It took more than a year of enforcement action for state agencies to shut down a Brooklyn smoke shop called Big Chief, which continued to operate despite its employees being arrested, receiving warnings from state authorities and getting threatened with eviction from its landlord.

Last month, OCM and the Department of Taxation and Finance finally shut down and padlocked the store, underscoring how long the administrative and legal process takes. — Mona Zhang

On the Beats

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks during the State of the State address in Albany, N.Y., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024. The Democrat outlined her agenda for the ongoing legislative session, focusing on crime, housing and education policies. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Gov. Kathy Hochul promised more funding for responding to and preventing flood disasters in her 2024 State of the State address. | Seth Wenig/AP Photo

FLOOD FUNDING: Hochul plans to leverage money from the $4.2 billion environmental bond act to fund environmental and climate priorities this year as a deficit looms.

Hochul’s State of the State plan will be fleshed out further in the budget, but it includes grant programs relying on the bond act approved in 2022. Several proposals are focused on responding to major flooding in the Hudson Valley and downstate last year.

The governor is also proposing a study of a clean transportation standard by state agencies.

Local officials and Hochul were frustrated by the limited availability of federal assistance for individual homeowners after flooding last year in the Hudson Valley and elsewhere. Hochul made state grants available to homeowners in select counties.

Now, she wants to codify and expand that type of assistance and offer money to fortify homes in vulnerable areas — before storms hit. She’s proposing a “resilient and ready” program administered by Homes and Community Renewal, with pre-vetted contractors on call. The size and funding source of the program is not clear.

She’s also seeking increased state assistance for resources like generators, pumps and flood barriers for counties and municipalities to respond to flash flooding and other disasters. — Marie J. French

EDUCATION: Hochul mapped out her education priorities and called for an overhaul of the way reading is taught in schools and initiatives to boost enrollment at the state’s public university systems.

The governor unveiled a “back to basics” plan that includes $10 million to train 20,000 educators in the science of reading, an approach that involves teaching kids phonics and sounding out words. She’s also looking to automatically admit high school students who are in the top 10 percent of their classes to CUNY and SUNY campuses.

Other proposals include expanding mental health services, obliging school districts to ensure high school seniors fill out an application for federal student aid and efforts to boost voter participation on college campuses. She’s also looking to get more CUNY and SUNY students enrolled in a federal food assistance program.

But her agenda was missing some key proposals, including an extension of mayoral control of New York City public schools, possible amendments to a new state law requiring the city to reduce class sizes and whether she plans to continue fully funding foundation aid for the state’s high-need districts. — Madina Touré

MENTAL HEALTH: Hochul declared mental health as one of the three main focuses of her 2024 “commonsense agenda,” along with fighting crime and “protecting New Yorkers’ hard earned money."

The governor wants to mandate higher insurance reimbursements for mental health care, calling for programs to be available in all public schools and attempting to tamp down on crime committed by homeless individuals suffering from mental illness.

She released 10 initiatives to link mental health, justice and homelessness support systems, including creating a new Law Enforcement and Mental Health Coordination Team within the Office of Mental Health, heightening parole supervision for individuals with mental health issues and increasing the number of mental health courts.

“Make no mistake, this is the defining challenge of our time,” she said. “That's why my administration working in partnership with this legislature has already made unprecedented investments in mental health care.” — Jason Beeferman

AROUND NEW YORK

— Hochul says the state of the state is concerning, but fixable. (New York Times)

— A Cornell study found that climate change will threaten Adirondack lake fish. (Times Union)

— Adams and Hochul both plan to release their budgets on the same day, Jan. 16. The two political power houses will be competing for headlines. (POLITICO)

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