Breaking down Hochul’s State of the State

Entering her fourth full year in office, Gov. Kathy Hochul presented her agenda for the year in her annual State of the State address in Albany on Tuesday. She touted middle-class tax cuts and rebates in the form of direct checks, while pledging to assign police to patrol subway cars overnight in New York City.

Hochl’s address came after a tough election year for the Democratic Party across the country and an unusually strong showing for President-elect Donald Trump throughout the state, though Democrats managed to flip some congressional seats in New York. Republican inroads seemed largely tied to one thing: the economy. At the same time, high profile incidents of random violence on the subway recently have heightened fears about public safety, which Republicans have historically run better on.

Although Hochul has said that election results are not driving her agenda for the year, she is making cost-of-living issues the cornerstone of her plan for 2025. The governor had started to roll out initiatives in the lead up to her State of the State address with the tagline “Money In Your Pockets.”

Ahead of her speech, Hochul released a 144-page agenda book laying out her plans on affordability and more in the coming year. It is still light on some key details, which will come when the governor presents her executive budget next week. In the very first sentence of the forward, Hochul wrote that “our future depends upon the ability of every family to afford the essentials of life, and our future depends upon our ability to protect the safety and security of our residents.” It condensed the messaging that she has been focused on for the past several weeks, and set the tone for the policies that made up the rest of the document. 

Here are some of the policy proposals she is proposing in her State of the State:

Affordability

Unsurprisingly, affordability topped the list of the governor’s priorities in her State of the State agenda. She plans to cut taxes for five of the nine tax brackets in New York, affecting 77% of taxpayers by her administration’s estimation. The $1 billion tax cut would impact joint filers making up to $323,200, but her policy book mentioned a “phase in” period, so specifics on the proposal are still scarce. She also plans to roll out an inflation tax rebate for New Yorkers, totalling $3 billion in the form of $300 and $500 one-time payments depending on income level and tax filing status. The state’s child tax credit would be doubled or tripled under the governor’s plan, offering up to $1,000 per child under four years old and $500 per child between the ages of four and 16, over a two-year phase in period. Additionally, the governor plans to push for the State and Local Tax deduction cap to be lifted. 

In addition to increasing the child tax credit, Hochul focused on other ways to reduce the cost of raising children. In her State of the State book, the governor pitched the creation of the Coalition for Child Care to “identify a responsible and sustainable path toward funding Universal Child Care.” In another universal endeavor, Hochul threw her support behind a proposal she had previously rejected to make school meals free for all students, regardless of income.

Public Safety

As she previewed in the weeks leading up to the State of the State, Hochul also made public safety a big part of her agenda for the year. She notably is proposing to decouple the state’s discovery laws from its speedy trials statute – a priority for prosecutors who have said that the connection has resulted in case dismissals. Hochul is also pitching measures to “streamline” the discovery process, such as certifying discovery compliance even when prosecutors have not obtained and shared information that requires subpoenas.

Hochul had several other measures meant to tackle public safety as well, including the expansion of Crime Analysis Centers to increase data sharing between agencies and the creation of a New York State Crime Analysis and Joint Special Operations Command Headquarters. Hochul also pitched various measures to support law enforcement and recruit new talent.

Specifically to address concerns about crime in the subway, Hochul plans to introduce legislation that would ban from the subway people convicted of assaulting riders or Metropolitan Transportation workers. Lawmakers have rejected past attempts to ban certain people with convictions from public transit. Hochul’s State of the State book also said she would work with New York City to ensure there is a police presence on every overnight subway for the next six months.

Mental Health

The governor has consistently focused on mental health during her tenure so far, and this year is no different. Some of Hochul’s safety pushes overlap with those on mental health as she attempts to address concerns about random violence perpetrated by people with severe, untreated mental illness. As she previously previewed, the governor’s agenda includes strengthening Kendra’s Law to mandate outpatient treatment ordered by a judge. Her book also said that she would like to “address critical gaps in the standards for involuntary commitment,” which Hochul also previously spoke about.

In addition to expanding Kendra’s Law, Hochul is proposing investing more state funds into counties to help them implement the Assisted Outpatient Treatment programs under Kendra’s Law. She’s also proposing improved oversight of insurance companies to ensure that they are providing mental health coverage as mandated by law.

Environment

Although all eyes are on the future of the state’s cap and invest program, which Hochul laid out in 2023, her agenda book contained just a single mention of the program, without any details on the plan that will be critical to the state hitting its climate goals. According to the book, the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority “will take steps forward on developing the cap-and-invest program, proposing new reporting regulations by the end of this year.” That kicks the process down the road for at least another year, even though draft regulations were meant to come out this year.

As she has previously suggested, Hochul is looking to increase the state’s use of nuclear energy – a marked shift from her predecessor, who celebrated the closure of the Indian Point nuclear power plant. Her agenda proposes the creation of a Master Plan for Responsible Advanced Nuclear Development to help the state meet its goals for decarbonization. New York has seen delays in offshore wind projects, which had promised to be one of the major sources of renewable energy as the state tries to hit its goal of green electric sources. On a similar note, Hochul’s agenda said that money from the $4.2 billion Environmental Bond Act would be used to electrify public universities in the state.

Housing

After achieving a major housing deal last year following years of failed attempts, Hochul is making some new pitches to address the state’s housing crisis. One is a proposal to decrease the number of single- and two-family homes that end up in the hands of private equity firms. Her State of the State book said she will introduce legislation to create a 75-day waiting period before such institutional investors can bid on a home.

Following up on her “Pro-Housing Community” designation to incentivize local development, Hochul is proposing a $100 million Pro-Housing Supply fund to help build out infrastructure to support new housing. She is also proposing streamlining the environmental review process for “modest” developments.

Transportation

Hochul expressed support for funding the MTA’s 2025-2029 Capital Plan through a mix of federal, state, local and MTA-based avenues. She also announced a plan that would create the Second Ave. Subway Phase 2 extension into East Harlem and the installation of modern signal systems on the A, C, B, D and F lines, as well as the implementation of hundreds of new electric buses. Additionally, she proposed investments on the Metro-North railroad that would increase climate resiliency, shorten the trip between Poughkeepsie and New York City and explore a shuttle bus to Metro North stops west of the Hudson River for commuters. Hochul is also pushing for the restoration of the state Department of Transportation’s purchasing power to support its ongoing capital projects, as well as a redesign of the Cross-Bronx Expressway and Interstate 787 in downtown Albany.

Health care

Hochul’s health care agenda makes abortion access a central focus, with funding for care and infrastructure from an increase in the Reproductive Freedom and Equity Grant Fund and additional funding streams. The governor also proposed legislation that would protect the identity of abortion medication providers and the codification of abortion as a form of emergency healthcare in the state. In addition, Hochul proposed expanding access to infertility treatments through new legislation and expanded eligibility for the state’s infertility reimbursement program. She is also backing legislation that would give greater responsibilities to non-physicians: dentists would be able to practice in more locations, expanding the scope of practice for certified nursing assistants would be able to administer routine medications in nursing homes, physician assistants would have greater autonomy and pharmacists would be allowed to prescribe smoking cessation medicine and counsel. Other health-related initiatives that Hochul is backing include establishing emergency medical services as an essential service for county governments, expanding access to air conditioning for New Yorkers with chronic conditions and working with other states to pressure drug companies to bring down the cost of the generic form of the popular weight loss drug Ozempic.