Gov. Kathy Hochul is scheduled to announce this year's legislative agenda on Tuesday, but Albany's influence is already setting the goalposts.
Lobbyists, activists and legislators are back to haunt the halls and back rooms of the Capitol, and Planet Albany is buzzing ahead of Tuesday's State of the State address. Many people have already defined the parameters of what will happen by the time the Poles return from escaping the mission to the 2024 campaign trail.
Legislative leaders have avoided discussing details of major bills, which focus on topics such as housing, the immigration crisis and the mayor's control of New York City schools.
“She hasn't said anything yet,” Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said Monday. “So, as I always say, I'm not going to pile speculation on speculation.”
“Everything is on the table at this point,” state Senate President Andrea Stewart-Cousins told reporters.
The newspaper has learned that there is at least one important point in the speech, and that is the fight against illegal smoking shops.
The governor is expected to push for legislation that would further strengthen the powers of not only the state but also local governments.
Activists are not enthusiastic about setting goals for other demands.
The Greater New York Hospital Association and 1199 SEIU, a powerful health care workers union, rallied Monday for new demands for an infusion of funding into Medicaid and additional funding for hospitals.
Last year, hospitals and unions were able to use their power to get the city of Albany to provide more than $1.4 billion in funding, in addition to increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates.
“We need hospitals to pay for treatment, and that seems like a no-brainer to me,” association president Ken Luske told the gathering.
Activists carried fake umbrellas and called on the governor and Legislature to tap the state's rainy day fund to cover new spending. In his budget proposal last year, Hochul called for expanding the reserve fund to about $19 billion by the end of fiscal year 2023.
“We're not looking at raising taxes at all,” Rathke told the Post. “We are looking at whether revenue can be generated from existing sources to achieve our plans.”
Mr. Hochul promised not to raise income taxes on New Yorkers this year. In response, some liberal Democratic lawmakers have reiterated their long-standing demands. tax high income earners.
“Governor Hochul wants to grow the population and the economy. He is unlikely to consider raising taxes as a way to achieve that,” NYC Partnership CEO Katherine Wild told the Post. He hoped the speech would bring positive news for business.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams will be among the dignitaries heading to Albany for Hochul's speech. On his mind are hints about extending his control over New York City schools, which expires at the end of June.
“We want to continue the mayor's control of our schools. I mean, look at our success,” Adams boasted to reporters Monday.
New York United Teachers, the state's powerful teachers' union, is among the groups seeking to usurp Mr. Adams' mayoral powers, saying he has no right to attend classes under a law passed by the state Legislature last year. They claim that they have failed to reduce the number of employees.
Another highly anticipated part of Mr. Hochul's speech will be closely watched by Albany types. It's about housing.
The governor said he will continue to try to reach a housing agreement this year after the governor and the Legislature were unable to reach an agreement last year when the state budget was on hold for several weeks.
“We need more supply,” Hochul told reporters last month. “It’s not sustainable for people to leave the state and go to other states with the same tax rates and the same climate just because they can find housing.”
In addition to allocating new housing to New York City's suburbs, Hochul last year proposed requiring areas with subway or train stations to allow housing to be built in their neighborhoods.
Left-handed housing activists have already declared that they will die if a watered-down version of the same housing arrives. their tenant protection The proposed rent control as a just-cause eviction raises questions about how likely the two sides are to find an agreement.
Hochul spent much of last week slowly rolling out the proposals he plans to include in his Tuesday speech.
These include eliminating copays for insulin in some insurance plans, overhauling elementary school reading instruction, funding for swimming pools and programs, initiatives to support maternal health, and an advisory committee on artificial intelligence. It will be done.
