Hochul Delivers Her Second State of the State as Elected Governor

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This past week New York State Governor Kathy Hochul delivered her State of the State address before lawmakers in Albany inside the Assembly Chamber. This is Hochul’s second State of the State as an elected Governor. Here are some of her proposals that will impact Suffolk County families.

MONEY FOR MOMS

Expectant mothers will be eligible to receive 40-hours of paid leave to attend prenatal doctor appointments. Families will also be able to receive care from a doula without a referral from a doctor.

STRONGER READERS

The state will spend $10 million of tax dollars to train 20,000 teachers on the science of reading. Hochul’s “Back to Basics” proposal also requires the Department of Education to add teaching phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, vocabulary, and comprehension to school curriculums by September of 2025.

CONSUMER PROTECTIONS

There’s numerous planks within this consumer protection proposal from Hochul. So called “buy now, pay later” predatory lenders will have to register as a business in New York State, and more severe penalties will be in place for those that rip off Suffolk County families.

There will also be an increase in the maximum benefit for paid medical and disability leave, eliminate insulin copays for $1.6 million New Yorkers, and limit hospitals from suing low-income patients over medical debt.

NEW YORK SWIMS

According to Hochul, drowning is the leading cause of death for kids between the ages of one and four. The Governor wants to spend more tax dollars on new swimming pools in urban areas, as well as strengthen access to rivers and lakes across the Empire State.

AI RESEARCH

A $400 million pilot program of private and public funds will create the Empire AI Consortium. This new computing center will be located in Upstate New York. It will include educational partners at Columbia, Cornell University, New York University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the State University of New York (SUNY), the City University of New York (CUNY), and the Simons Foundation.

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo delivered his State of the State address inside the convention center at the Empire State Plaza. Hochul moved the speech back to the more traditional floor of the State Assembly.