Gov. Kathy Hochul delivered her annual State of the State Tuesday, which was followed by responses from politicians and numerous education, business and other organizations.
Here’s a sampling.
State Comptroller Thomas Dinapoli
“With a new year and legislative session upon us, today’s State of the State Address by Gov. Hochul outlined her priorities for 2024, addressing issues important to New Yorkers across the state.
“The Midyear Financial Plan released in October indicated the state is facing outyear budget gaps totaling over $21 billion through State Fiscal Year 2026-27.
“With federal pandemic funding winding down, it is important New York’s spending is aligned with its revenues and focused on services that matter to New Yorkers. I’m pleased the governor and legislature followed my recommendation to increase the state’s rainy-day reserves, which now provides more fiscal stability in the wake of any economic hardship.
“I look forward to hearing more about the state’s plan to meet today’s proposals when the state budget is released later this month.”
Assemblyman Keith Brown, R-Northport
“Gov. Hochul addressed some important concerns and issues during her State of the State address today: she plans to tackle the opioid and fentanyl crisis head-on, she plans to drastically improve mental health services for individuals and children, she plans to combat social media platforms whose algorithms target and exploit teens and she plans to fight back against retail theft, antisemitism and crime throughout our state.
“Although these were valid concerns for her to mention, right now, families are looking for absolute transparency and immediate action. The devil is in the details, and quite frankly, many New Yorkers are being driven out of state due to our state’s lack of action. Residents feel their fears are not being addressed and their voices are not being heard, and it doesn’t help that the glaring $4.3 billion budget deficit was conveniently omitted from the governor’s speech.
“I am curious to see what will happen in the next few months as we look forward to the state budget discussions and the introduction of new legislation. It will be interesting to see how Gov. Hochul’s plans unfold.”
Long Island Association
“Today, Governor Hochul’s address zeroed in on challenging issues stunting economic
growth in New York State, including creating new housing and ensuring public safety,
which are essential to a thriving business climate. Additionally, Long Island can play a key
role in the new artificial intelligence hub, harnessing the expertise at our leading research
and academic institutions to create new jobs. We look forward to partnering with the
Governor and her administration to foster economic prosperity on Long Island.” Matt Cohen, president and CEO.
New York State United Teachers
“The governor’s State of the State message is a welcome affirmation of her commitment to invest in our public schools, students and educators. NYSUT shares her powerful goals of addressing barriers to authentic learning, including increasing access to vital student mental health support, protecting kids from harmful impacts of social media and fighting to end childhood poverty.
We appreciate her appetite for building on the historic full funding of Foundation Aid and are excited that her vision recognizes that our schools and communities prosper when we offer educators the tools and professional training they need to build healthy classrooms and sustainable careers.
NYSUT looks forward to working with the governor and the Legislature to craft a state budget that ensures our students and educators, from pre-K to postgraduate, have the resources and support they need for success.” NYSUT President Melinda Person.
Public Employees Federation
“After a decade of neglect, Governor Kathy Hochul has made rebuilding the state workforce a priority. She embraced the tenets of PEF’s “Fund Our Future” initiative by negotiating union contracts that support the workforce, establishing a paid parental leave program for our members, adding additional beds to provide state-supported mental health services, and enacting significant civil service reforms designed to rebuild state services and the workforce. PEF supports the vision expressed in today’s State of the State address, and hopes the governor continues to improve Tier 6 of the State pension plan to attract and retain the skilled professionals needed to deliver quality services. We look forward to seeing the Governor’s Executive Budget proposal and working with her and our partners in the Senate and Assembly to enact a budget that meets the financial needs of the state and provides the services New Yorkers want and deserve.”
“After a decade of neglect, Governor Kathy Hochul has made rebuilding the state workforce a priority. She embraced the tenets of PEF’s “Fund Our Future” initiative by negotiating union contracts that support the workforce, establishing a paid parental leave program for our members, adding additional beds to provide state-supported mental health services, and enacting significant civil service reforms designed to rebuild state services and the workforce. PEF supports the vision expressed in today’s State of the State address, and hopes the governor continues to improve Tier 6 of the State pension plan to attract and retain the skilled professionals needed to deliver quality services. We look forward to seeing the Governor’s Executive Budget proposal and working with her and our partners in the Senate and Assembly to enact a budget that meets the financial needs of the state and provides the services New Yorkers want and deserve.”
Associated Builders & Contractors Empire State Chapter
“The Associated Builders & Contractors Empire State Chapter is pleased to again hear Governor Hochul commit to improving our infrastructure, expanding broadband, constructing more affordable housing, and continuing our commitment to green energy,” said Brian Sampson, President of the Chapter. “However, our leaders in Albany need to remedy the construction crisis they created.”
“As session gets underway, policymakers must heed the warnings from our recently released report which ranked New York dead last in the country for creating a pro-growth construction environment. The study made it quite clear why New York is last and what it needs to do to improve its ranking.
Our chief concern continues to be the utilization of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) and the application of prevailing wages to private work. These do nothing other than steer contracts to preferred companies and make New York even less affordable. New York continues to be the last state in the nation with the outdated Scaffold Law, it also has an overly generous and often fraudulent Workers Compensation program, both of which severely increase the cost of insurance. These added costs are transferred to projects which makes them unaffordable. It’s why the state continues to use a pothole approach to repair our roads, bridges, sewers, broadband and other public infrastructure. These harmful policies are why New York has some of the worst graded roads and bridges in the country. It’s also a key driver in why we continue to struggle fixing our energy grid and why vast areas of the state don’t have access to broadband.
This is unacceptable. Albany can’t continue to waste taxpayer dollars on unnecessary, expensive, and restrictive mandates that benefit no one. New Yorkers pay for better roads, bridges, and infrastructure with their tax money, it’s time they get what they’re paying for. Governor Hochul said it best, the state cannot continue to spend money it doesn’t have, and it must protect taxpayers hard earned money. The solution is very simple, end their use of harmful mandates that drive up the cost of construction. Doing so will start to address New York’s affordability crisis and improve the quality of life for all of us.” Empire State Chapter President Brian Sampson
Home Care Association
“Home Care Association of New York State President and CEO Al Cardillo issued the following statement in response to Governor Hochul’s State of the State Address.
“HCA commends Governor Hochul for her focus on strengthening the State’s healthcare system, bolstering the healthcare workforce, and improving the health of New Yorkers. We look forward to working closely with the Governor on these proposals and, in particular, on initiatives to assist home health agencies and the hundreds of thousands of vulnerable individuals depending on them every day. It is imperative that the State Legislative Session and budget prioritize the public’s needs for home care services, the critical shortage of home care nurses and aides, and the funding of severely under-reimbursed agencies struggling to provide needed services. Additionally, the Governor’s broader, systemwide proposals must be carefully assessed as details emerge, and be shaped or reshaped to best meet their goals while avoiding adverse impact on patients, providers, and health plans.”
HCA is a statewide health organization comprised of nearly 300 member providers and organizations delivering home and community-based care to several hundred thousand New Yorkers annually.”
Alliance for Quality in Education
“The priorities that Governor Hochul outlined for education and child care today do not go far enough to address our childrens’ most pressing needs, from early education until they graduate high school.
“The funding for reading instruction and student mental health supports that the Governor included in her address are important and needed. In fact, many school districts are already investing in such programs using federal pandemic aid. But with federal aid expiring this year, we will need a much bigger investment from the state to fill the gap — and our children’s needs extend far beyond literacy alone. Public schools, educators, and students are still reeling from the aftermath of the pandemic’s impacts on education, and the Governor’s budget needs to better reflect that. School districts are currently using the expiring federal money to provide students with mental health supports, social workers, nurses, summer tutoring, and early education programs. We need to fund what districts are doing now, not force them to close existing programs that are working, and start over. The Governor missed the opportunity today to commit to continue funding all of those existing programs, to ensure school districts do not have to make cuts,” said Zakiyah Shaakir-Ansari, interim Co-Executive Director, Alliance for Quality Education.
“To excel in our K-12 school system, New York’s children need quality early care and learning. The only way to ensure that children thrive regardless of their family’s income is by providing access to quality early childhood programs. The Governor likes to tout her commitment to expanding child care access, but she does not follow through with the financial investments necessary to make that more than a talking point. The state’s lack of investment in increasing wages for early educators continues to result in a lack of programs for the many children and families who need them.
“The Governor herself acknowledged that taxes do not drive families from New York — it’s the lack of affordability and access to services. To make New York livable for the people who live here, we need to raise revenue to invest in good schools, child care, and affordable housing.
“Governor Hochul fully implemented Foundation Aid, but she did not get there on her own; it took three decades of advocacy on the part of parents, educators, and students. Budgets are about priorities. If the Governor truly is committed to fighting for our children, we need more than small gestures or policy tweaks. It cannot take us another 30 years to take the next step toward educational equity for all New York’s children,” said Marina Marcou-O’Malley, interim Co-Executive Director, Alliance for Quality Education.