New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is proposing a tax cut, larger subsidies for child care and a new grant to certain families after the births of their children — part of a plan to put more money in the pockets of working and middle-class New Yorkers.
The Democratic governor outlined the ideas in her State of the State written message, released before her address Tuesday.
In the speech, Hochul emphasized public safety and kitchen table issues, as she has in each of her three previous addresses.
“Our future depends on the ability of every family to afford the essentials of life and our ability to protect the safety and security of our residents,” Hochul said in her roughly hour-long speech. “But we will not achieve these goals without a fight, so my commitment to every New Yorker is this: your family is my fight.”
The tax cut would total $1 billion in aggregate and apply to New Yorkers who report less than $323,000 of income — which is roughly three-quarters of the people in the state, according to Hochul’s written message. She promised eligible people would see hundreds of dollars of savings on average.
Hochul’s proposed BABY Benefit would apply to pregnant New Yorkers on public assistance, offering expectant mothers $100 a month while pregnant, and $1,200 upon the births of their children. The governor is also pushing to expand eligibility for existing tax credits to subsidize the cost of child care.
The State of the State address is a governor’s best chance to introduce big ideas and wax poetic. Specific plans for spending will be unveiled later this month, when Hochul releases her budget proposal.
Before taking the stage in a theater adjacent to the State Capitol, Hochul had already unveiled proposals to send cash rebate checks to taxpayers and use state funds to make school lunches free for all New York students.
“Worries about crime and struggles to make ends meet are too common,” Hochul said in the written message. “Our state has to be livable, and people have to be able to afford to live in it. We must keep fighting and delivering for the children and families of New York.”
In addition to the proposals for tax cuts and rebate checks, Hochul also said in her written message that she would direct $400 million for projects to revitalize Albany and new funding available statewide for community centers and playgrounds.
“ We've got to reimagine our downtowns and that's going to take investment,” Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said. She said as the Capital city, Albany was like the “corporate headquarters” for state government.
Hochul has enjoyed a cordial relationship with Democratic leaders of the state Assembly and Senate. A day ahead of the governor’s address, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Democrat from Yonkers, said that she was open to a discussion about changing the standards by which a person can be confined for mental health treatment against their will. Both Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams have in recent weeks expressed interest in loosening current state laws.
“Let’s just be honest with ourselves: There’s nothing compassionate about letting people suffer without treatment on the streets,” Hochul said. “And there’s nothing compassionate about letting people put themselves and others at risk.”
“I am interested and I think our conference is interested in what might be proposed so that we can figure a way forward that respects people’s rights but also respects the safety of New Yorkers,” Stewart-Cousins said at a press conference Monday. “I’m sure there will be a robust conversation, and we can get somewhere.”
On Tuesday, legislators and dignitaries from around the state — including Adams and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz — flocked to the Capitol complex for the address. A crowd of dozens demonstrated nearby, expressing their frustration with the state’s vaccine mandates.
Republicans on Monday urged Hochul to heed the results of last year’s election, in which President Donald Trump won seven swing states and Democrats lost control of the U.S. Senate. (Vice President Kamala Harris easily won New York, where Democrats picked up three U.S. House seats.)
State Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, a Republican from Niagara County, said Hochul should try to address outmigration from the state, which is particularly acute in upstate areas.
“You can tell if a state’s policies are working or not by who’s coming in or who’s leaving,” he said.