State of the State set for today

The Reporters’ Notebook features bite-sized stories and updates from New York Focus reporters on the topics they cover. It’s our way of keeping readers updated about the subjects they care about between the time it takes to publish our longer, more in-depth articles.

Bianca Fortis

The biggest question around education in New York this year: What is going to happen to Foundation Aid?

The formula New York uses to distribute the bulk of state school funding has been in use since 2007, and just about everyone agrees that it’s very out of date.

As part of last year’s state budget, Governor Kathy Hochul and the legislature allocated $2 million for a study to figure out how to improve the formula. A resulting 314-page report in early December included a litany of recommendations — each with the potential to impact how much money schools get.

At Hochul’s State of the State on Tuesday, I’ll be watching to see which of those suggestions she will try to implement.

The governor is also expected to push for a state-funded universal school meal program. The state already provides free meals to low-income districts, and a handful of cities have their own universal meal programs. But with President-elect Donald Trump vowing to cut federal funding for school meals, a state program could protect districts at risk of losing that money.

What else should I watch for during the state budget negotiations? Let me know: bianca@nysfocus.com.

Colin Kinniburgh

There are three big climate items I’ll be looking out for in this year’s State of the State:

Will we finally see a detailed plan for “cap and invest,” as expected, and what will it contain? What price is Hochul willing to put on carbon? Will the program be stringent enough to win support from climate advocates? Hochul will need a robust coalition on her side for the program to overcome pushback from business groups.

Will Hochul once again offer a plan for the state to transition off of gas? She included legislation to this effect in her budget proposal last year, but her support wasn’t enough to overcome objections in the state Assembly.

Will New York make any major reforms to how it procures renewable energy? This summer, the state published an official review of the factors holding up its wind and solar buildout, but the recommendations in that report haven’t been finalized. Hochul could take this opportunity to announce changes, such as plans to create “renewable energy zones” in renewable-friendly parts of the state or to allow utilities to own and operate large wind and solar projects, something they’re currently barred from doing.

What else should I be looking out for? Let me know: colin@nysfocus.com.

Chris Bragg

I’ll be interested in whether Hochul discusses tweaking or overhauling New York’s ethics law.

Last week, the state Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s lawsuit seeking to disband the state ethics agency, the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government.

Cuomo previously prevailed in state supreme court, then in a 5–0 decision in mid-level appellate court. Now all eyes are on the Court of Appeals.

It’s unclear when the state’s top court will issue a ruling, but Hochul could get ahead of its decision by proposing tweaks to the parts of the law governing the agency that lower courts ruled were illegal. Hochul could also opt for the more politically difficult road of proposing a constitutional amendment creating a new agency. Or she could propose nothing and wait for the ruling.

In a statement last week, commission leaders said they were confident that if the court finds shortcomings in the law creating the body, they would “be quickly rectified by the governor and legislature.”

One twist: As of May, the ethics commission was investigating Hochul, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, and their friends over luxury Buffalo Bills tickets. If the court abolishes the agency, its fate will be in the hands of the same politicians it has probed.

What else do you think I should pay attention to during the State of the State? Let me know: cbragg@nysfocus.com.

Julia Rock

“Affordability” is the buzzword in Albany this year, as Democrats seek to address the kitchen-table issues that cost them in November and Governor Hochul eyes low approval ratings and the prospect of serious challengers in 2026.

Hochul has already previewed new proposals to tackle the state’s high cost of living: an expanded child tax credit, “inflation refund” checks of up to $500, money to build child care centers, and support for homebuyers.

I’ll be looking for more details on her plans for child care in particular. The governor is assembling a coalition to “put New York on the path to universal child care,” but her support for child care funding has historically been modest, putting her at odds with universal child care advocates in the legislature.

Last year, both the Assembly and Senate budgets proposed establishing a permanent fund to support the child care workforce — but Hochul didn’t.

I’ll also be watching to see if Hochul’s proposed budget includes more of the December recommendations from the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council, set up by a 2021 state law to cut child poverty in half. She’s already taken up one of the council’s recommendations, an expanded child tax credit, though her proposal is smaller than what the council suggested. But she has not yet weighed in on other ideas like bigger cash assistance payments and a statewide rental voucher program.

Let me know what else you’d like me to keep an eye on: julia@nysfocus.com.

Sam Mellins

Hochul has dubbed her legislative proposals this year the “Affordability Agenda,” focusing on cost-of-living issues like child care, tax cuts, and school lunches. But the biggest strain on most New Yorkers’ budgets is the sky-high cost of housing.

Hochul has been clear that she sees building more housing as the best way to bring down costs — a position supported by reams of research. But since vociferous suburban opposition killed her 2023 plan for statewide housing growth, she’s trod cautiously on the topic.

Last year, she focused mostly on boosting housing growth in New York City by passing tax breaks, subsidies, and zoning changes. She also promised the city $1 billion in affordable housing funds to help pass Mayor Eric Adams’s signature City of Yes zoning reform, which the city projects will lead to 80,000 new homes.

On Tuesday, she’ll propose a legislative package meant to make buying a home more affordable by offering tax breaks and grants to individuals and discouraging corporations from buying single-family homes. Other potential proposals include a state loan fund to lower development costs and plans to build housing on state-owned land.

Ultimately, a comprehensive solution to the state’s housing crunch will likely require a change of course from the many New York City suburbs that have refused to add meaningful amounts of new housing for decades. That probably isn’t in the cards this year.

What do you want me looking out for on Tuesday? Let me know: sam@nysfocus.com.

Chris Gelardi

It’s Groundhog Day in Albany. At least, that’s what it feels like if you follow state criminal justice policy. In the state budgets passed in 2022 and 2023, Governor Hochul rammed through rollbacks to the state’s 2019 bail reform law, responding to a media storm that falsely connected the reforms to Covid-era upticks in violent crime. After two rounds of rollbacks, she promised that she was leaving bail alone. But her allies won’t let up.

Enter Eric Adams, Hochul’s tough-on-crime political ally. The embattled, indicted New York City mayor said this week that he’s pushing Albany to pass even more rollbacks to bail reform. He also wants to revise reforms made to New York’s discovery statute, which outlines the parameters by which prosecutors must share evidence with the defense in a criminal case.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who launched a failed 11th-hour discovery reform rollback campaign in 2023, said he’s also been “pushing vigorously” to change the law this session.

Changing these laws could affect the lives and freedom of tens of thousands of people a year. As I pry into the behind-the-scenes negotiations that determine their fate, let me know what questions you have: chris@nysfocus.com.

Image Credits and Reference: https://www.yahoo.com/news/state-state-set-today-233200062.html