New York State Legislature Address Highlights

Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado presides over a joint session of the New York State legislature.
Governor Kathy Hochul delivers her annual message to the legislature, highlighting achievements and future plans.
The state is stronger and healthier than it was two years ago, with more jobs, reduced unemployment, increased education funding, and healthcare investments.
Safety and affordability are top concerns for New Yorkers, with declining crime rates but ongoing fears about gun violence, mental health care, and cost of living.
The governor has worked to create more than 600,000 jobs and reduce unemployment while holding the line on taxes and investing in schools, healthcare, and infrastructure.
New York has restored integrity and trust in government, focusing on common ground and common sense to lift up the people of the state.
Key initiatives include addressing persistent crimes, revolutionizing mental health insurance, protecting consumers from bad actors, and building a business-friendly environment.
The state will continue to invest in infrastructure projects, create union jobs, and support minimum wage workers and farmers.
The governor is committed to ensuring healthy pregnancies, protecting women from unnecessary surgeries, and promoting physical health and well-being.
The lieutenant governor will lead a new office of service and civic engagement to connect New Yorkers to service opportunities.
The state will protect the environment, promote jobs and agriculture, and invest in research for rare diseases.
The governor announces a series of crime-fighting tactics and an era-defining mental health initiative to make New Yorkers feel safe and focused on what matters most.
The state will address domestic violence by protecting victims and changing laws to keep abusers from having access to guns.
The legislative session also includes recognition and prayers from religious leaders and invocations from students.- The speaker is advocating for strengthening protections against domestic violence and gun control, sharing a personal story of a survivor named Elizabeth Beard.
Elizabeth Beard is a survivor of domestic violence who was helped by Unity House, a nonprofit organization, and Troy police detective Russ Clement.
Elizabeth's abuser killed one of her kittens, and the veterinarian suggested she contact Unity House for support.
Detective Clement helped Elizabeth gather evidence, file charges, and testify at the grand jury, leading to a clean break from her abuser.
The speaker is committing $20 million to help District Attorneys gather evidence to prosecute abusers and take their guns away.
Retail theft has surged, leading to fear among customers and workers, and a joint operation between federal, state, and local law enforcement is being launched to crack down on organized retail theft.
Business owners will receive a tax credit to help cover additional security costs.
Hate crimes, particularly anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, have surged since the attacks by Hamas against Israel, leading to a increase in hate crimes against Jewish and Muslim residents in New York City.
The speaker proposes making more than two dozen additional offenses eligible for prosecution as hate crimes, resulting in enhanced liability sentences.
Mental health is a defining challenge of our time, and the speaker's administration has made unprecedented investments in mental health care, including a 33% increase in funding over the last two years.
The speaker is addressing the scourge of social media on young minds, with one in 14 teens considering suicide and a significant increase for teenage girls.
The speaker plans to demand accountability from social media companies and advance legislation to protect children's privacy and regulate algorithms targeting them on social media feeds.
Historic investments are being made to make mental health services available to every single school-age child, and every school that wants a mental health clinic will get one.
The speaker proposes comprehensive reform to the behavioral health system, including requiring hospitals to screen patients for risks, expanding mental health courts, and creating 200 best-in-class patient beds for those with the most serious needs.
The speaker wants to increase reimbursement rates for all state-licensed mental health services and require insurers to provide out-of-network coverage when timely appointments are not available in network.
Over $200 million in settlement funds are being secured by the Attorney General to bolster and support the addiction treatment workforce, grow street outreach efforts, and distribute more no-cost loan and millions more life-saving fentanyl test strips.
The speaker wants to prohibit unfair and abusive practices like student loan servicers pushing borrowers toward the most expensive repayment options and debt collectors manipulating seniors into giving up their protected income.
The speaker proposes regulating the buy now pay later loan industry and increasing paid disability leave from a paltry $170 a week to $1,250 a week.
The speaker wants to protect low-income New Yorkers from being sued by medical debt they cannot pay and cap monthly payments and interest.
The speaker wants to ban copay for insulin for anyone and establish a state-regulated insurance plan.
The speaker acknowledges the high cost of rents and mortgages caused by the unconscionable shortage of housing in New York and the resulting out-migration.
The speaker proposes expanding on the initiatives to develop on sites owned by state agencies, including former correctional facilities, areas near commuter rail stations, and underutilized Sunni properties, which could create up to 15,000 new housing units.
The only thing that will solve the affordability crisis is building hundreds of thousands of new homes now.
New York already spends more than any other state on housing, but it still hasn't meant more homes for people.
Spending more money or insisting on new regulations will not get out of the deep hole dug by decades of inaction.
The status quo has failed, and what is required is constructive surgery.
The city of New York wants to build 500,000 more homes over a decade, and the speaker agrees, proposing a plan for New York City that includes restoring tax incentives, eliminating outdated restrictions on residential density, and supporting no-brainer ideas like the conversion of underutilized commercial property.- New York Mayor Eric Adams calls for urgent action to address housing crisis and create jobs.
Adams aims to help New Yorkers like police officers, firefighters, nurses, and teachers afford housing in their communities.
Building more homes and creating good-paying jobs are priorities to help people provide for their families.
New York aims to attract businesses and become a leader in technology industries, such as semiconductors and AI research.
AI is a rapidly growing industry with significant potential; New York aims to become the global leader in AI research and development.
The Empire AI Consortium is proposed to purchase and share AI computing power with leading academic institutions.
Cornell, NYU, Columbia, and SUNY systems are expected to benefit from this initiative, driving ethical AI development and innovation.
New York's diverse population and industries create a unique environment for progress and growth.
FDR's quote, "the test of our progress is not whether we add to the abundance of those who have much, it's whether we provide enough for those who have too little," emphasizes the importance of inclusivity and building a middle class.
New York's vision for 2024 includes creating opportunities for veterans, improving infrastructure, supporting children with disabilities, and protecting women's rights.