Blog

This afternoon, Gov. Kathy Hochul gave her State of the State address. In her speech, she outlined her vision for the upcoming legislative session. The Governor’s wide-ranging agenda will touch each industry in some way.

Hochul plans to implement many of the Climate Action Council’s most aggressive recommendations, including bans on natural gas construction and appliances, a cap-and-invest system that will limit emissions levels and provide state funded rebates to assist consumers transition to renewable energy sources, and shifting the cost of recycling from municipalities and consumers to producers of packaging material. The BNP has been vocal about the massive economic consequences of implementing the CAC recommendations.  We continue to call on Governor Hochul and the State Legislature to keep energy affordable and reliable while acting on climate.

The centerpiece of Hochul’s speech was housing. The Governor called the state’s housing situation a “crisis” and vowed to implement a “New York Housing Compact,” with a goal of creating 800,000 new homes over the next decade. This will include:

• Calling on every municipality to amend land use policies to encourage housing development
• Setting goals for new housing construction in each municipality
• A focus on transit-oriented development
• Infrastructure funding to make possible more housing development
• Development incentives to encourage new housing

The Governor plans to index the state’s minimum wage to the rate of inflation, effectively establishing perpetual minimum wage increases. The BNP has long been opposed to this proposal.

After a campaign that prominently featured the issue of bail reform, Hochul defended the state’s reforms, but vowed to have a “thoughtful conversation” on improving the criminal justice law. Hochul also plans to invest an additional $1 billion into mental healthcare services.

Hochul said she will not increase income taxes this year, citing a looming economic recession.

Unfortunately, her state of the state briefing book did not contain any mention of Unemployment Insurance rate relief. As employers face UI rate increases and surcharges to pay down this debt, the BNP has been calling on the state to act.

The Governor’s full 277-page agenda is available here.

The BNP’s Advocacy Agenda for the year will be unveiled Thursday. Register today to join us!