A LIMITED MENU: Hochul does not want to raise personal income taxes to pay for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s capital plan. But she did not rule out other ways of generating cash from taxpayers in order to bolster the dilapidated mass transit system. “Obviously we need to get something done,” Hochul told WCBS in an interview that aired Sunday. “People need to understand that if we don’t make the investments — the ones that should have been made all along — it’s only going to get worse.” There’s no shortage of tax-and-fee increases the Democratic-led Legislature and Hochul could back. Lawmakers have quietly floated measures like increasing the payroll mobility tax or a so-called “mansion” surcharge to generate more cash for the MTA. But any tax hike could undercut the “affordability” theme New York Democrats are seeking to emphasize. Hochul wants to cut personal income taxes for joint filers who make less than $320,000. She has called for $3 billion in rebate checks in order to soften the impact of inflation. And the governor is pressing for measures to make child care less expensive. “I have no intention of raising income taxes on New Yorkers,” Hochul said in the interview. “I don’t want to have another reason people feel like they have to leave the state because taxes are too high.” — Nick Reisman TRUMP TIME: New York Democrats are bracing for governing in the Trump 2.0 era. The challenge of leading a blue state — which boasts strong abortion laws, an expansive Medicaid program and an estimated 672,000 undocumented immigrants — will be even trickier in the hours after Trump puts his hand on the Bible later today. Trump is expected to unspool executive orders that will address his signature issues like immigration and taking a cleaver to federal spending. The impact for New York could be severe. Eight years ago, the first Trump administration cut off New Yorkers from accessing Trusted Traveler Programs when the federal government tried to squeeze the state for information on undocumented people who have driver’s licenses. That kind of hardball is expected once again under the new Trump administration. Already, elected officials are fretting whether New York would have to jump through hoops to receive disaster aid. California’s wildfire recovery will offer an early test case for whether Trump will leverage a catastrophe to get what he wants from a Democratic-run state. “There’s no question that Trump is not above targeting people simply because they live in states that might be less MAGA than other parts of the country,” Manhattan Democratic Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal told Playbook. Hochul has pledged to work with Trump when she can. The governor, who has struggled with low favorable ratings and is up for reelection in 2026, has also embraced issues that Trump harnessed in his successful White House bid, like tackling voters’ cost-of-living concerns. But the squeeze on New York could immediately imperil the governor’s agenda. Republicans have signaled they will cut Medicaid, a move that would impact big-spending New York. (The Empire State spends some $92 billion on Medicaid, making it the costliest state program in the country.) Fiscal watchdogs have urged the Hochul administration to consider the Trump factor. But there’s only so much they can do. “That’s really what would change the fiscal outlook is big changes there,” said Patrick Orecki, the director of state studies for the Citizens Budget Commission. “You don’t want to be preemptively addressing things that haven’t happened yet, but you also don’t want to get out over your skis with that risk in mind.” Mounting a new resistance to Trump policies will be tough for Democrats after he received 43 percent of the vote in November. (Some drivers will cheer Trump if he rescinds federal approval for the controversial congestion pricing toll program.) “The state should actually make budget decisions based on reality,” former Rep. Marc Molinaro told Playbook. “The reality is Washington is going to tighten its belt, and rightfully so. Albany should tighten its belt, and rightfully so.” But New York Republicans have their own challenges. They are under pressure to win a favorable deal on lifting the cap for state and local tax deductions. And a Trump overreach could cost moderate GOP lawmakers in battleground seats. “There probably aren’t better negotiators on behalf of New York taxpayers than the current Republicans from New York in the House,” Molinaro said. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — Contributors with ties to real estate, health care and labor have donated to Hochul’s campaign and the state Democratic Committee. (POLITICO Pro) — A push to change New York’s discovery law is a notable shift for Democrats after left-leaning criminal justice reforms created political headaches. (Newsday) — Supporters of allowing wine sales in New York groceries are trying to build momentum for the long-stalled proposal. (Times Union)
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