Albany Report from Assemblyman Joe DeStefano
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It’s a split decision on Gov. Hochul and the Democrats holding up the state budget on some of the more pressing issues for Long Island: reforming the Democrat bail laws that have caused a state-wide crime wave and rolling over local zoning for multi-family housing.
On the crime prevention front, Hochul is right to hold out for more discretion for judges to jail repeat offenders and keep them off the street. The turnstile justice system thrust upon the court by the Progressive laws have made our communities decidedly less safe and she needs to stick to her guns on bail reform.
On the other hand, rolling over the suburbs with her housing agenda is wildly unpopular, even with some of her Democrat colleagues who see this as an unmitigated Albany power grab. Leaving it up to state bureaucrats on where to build large-scale housing projects is a recipe for disaster for the suburbs.
Negotiating on a budget that is expected to eclipse $227 billion, Hochul and her Democrat colleagues are also arguing over how much to increase the minimum wage, raise college tuition and hike the MTA tax. They failed to work out a deal between themselves over the weekend, but suffice it to say that a massive spending package will be dumped on the legislators at the last minute with virtually no time to read it.
My Republican colleagues and l in both houses have been keeping up the pressure on these issues and will keep fighting to make our communities safer and more affordable. With record spending and crippling taxes, let’s hope Hochul’s first budget as the elected governor of our state doesn’t turn into an ever bigger fiasco than it already is.