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Gov. Kathy Hochul is delivering her first state of the state address after succeeding scandal-scarred Andrew Cuomo — with a raft of proposals to usher in what the Empire State’s first female leader is calling a “new era for New York.”
Hochul wore a “suffragette white” outfit for her speech to a smaller-than-usual crowd due to the surging Omicron variant of the coronavirus and immediately noted the fact that she’s the first woman to deliver a State of the State Address.
“But I didn’t come here to make history. I came here to make a difference,” she said.
Hochul’s historic speech to legislators is taking place in the Assembly Chambers in Albany, a marked difference from the practice of her predecessor, who held campaign-style rallies in Albany’s convention center and last year gave a series of online speeches from an office in the Capitol known as the “War Room.”
An electronic briefing book distributed ahead of Hochul’s speech outlines multiple fiscal plans that will be included in her budget proposal, due later this month.
But there’s not a single reference in the 237 pages to the word “bail,” despite raging controversy over the effects of Cuomo-era reforms that critics have blamed for recent spikes in crime and violence — especially by gang members — across the state.
Hochul’s proposals include spending $10 billion to help expand the state’s healthcare workforce by 20 percent, provide $100 million in tax relief for small businesses and speed up $1.2 billion in middle-class tax cuts that began taking effect in 2018.
More than 2 million homeowners would also get $1 billion in property tax rebates this year, with low-income households and seniors reaping the biggest benefits, and spending on climate-friendly, “green” initiatives would include $1 billion to encourage the purchase and use of electric vehicle, according to the 237-page document.
Funding for the state’s proposed Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act — which goes before the voters in November — would also increase $1 billion to $4 billion.
On the critical issues of crime and public safety, Hochul plans to triple spending for the state police to trace the purchase of guns used in crimes and fund additional training for cops on the 2019 “Red Flag Law,” which permits the seizure of firearms from people deemed dangerous to themselves or others.
She also wants to create a “Jails to Jobs” program for criminals awaiting release from lockups.
Hochul is also proposing to abolish the much-criticized Joint Commission on Public Ethics, which recently sparked outrage over its handling of Cuomo’s $5.1 million deal to sell his memoir of the coronavirus pandemic.
Hochul would replace the 14-member commission — whose members are appointed by the governor and legislative leaders — with an independent, rotating board composed of five deans from the state’s laws schools or their designees.
Only a simple majority vote would be required to conduct probes or sanction officials for ethical lapses, eliminating the veto power that’s now held by JCOPE members.
The governor also wants to boost higher education, especially the publicly funded CUNY and SUNY systems, the latter of which is mentioned 153 times in her briefing book.
Hochu would make part-time students eligible for tuition assistance, which would be a boon to those who hold down jobs or are have families and has been debated by lawmakers for years.SUNY schools in Buffalo and Stony Brook would also be made “flagship” research institutions to spur new patents and economic development.
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