Governor Kathy Hochul used her first State of the State address to push changes she says are designed to restore trust in New York government, vowing to enact term limits for statewide officeholders and overhaul New York's beleaguered ethics enforcement system.
Hochul delivered her 33-minute address in front of a socially distanced crowd of about 50 people in the state Capitol’s spacious Assembly chamber, acknowledging her historic position as New York’s first woman governor and vowing to exceed any expectations she’s facing.
“I didn’t come here to make history,” said Hochul, who wore all white in a nod to the suffragette movement. “I came here to make a difference.”
Hochul laid out a comprehensive agenda for 2022 delivering her address on the same day as the the beginning of the state legislature's six-month session Wednesday afternoon.
The speech came less than four months after she took over for former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who resigned amid a sexual harassment scandal that engulfed him and his administration.
Here are five takeaways from Hochul’s first State of the State:
New Day, New Governor
Hochul opened her address by trying to make it clear: It’s a new day in New York state government.
She wasted no time reminding lawmakers there’s a new person with a new attitude in charge – making reference to Cuomo’s clashes with lawmakers and former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio without explicitly naming her predecessor.
“What I am proposing is a whole new era for New York,” she said. “The days of governors disregarding the rightful role of this legislature are over. The days of the governor of New York and mayor of New York City wasting time on petty rivalries are over. The days of New Yorkers questioning whether their government is actually working for them are over.”
Even the venue itself was significant. Hochul returned the address to its traditional home in the legislative chamber, where it had been held for decades prior to Cuomo’s time in office.
Starting in 2011, Cuomo moved the annual address to a cavernous convention hall outside of the Capitol — a venue that accommodated a larger crowd and, crucially, Cuomo’s beloved PowerPoint presentations.
Hochul’s move back to the Capitol was meant as an olive branch to state lawmakers, with whom she has tried to foster a more collaborative relationship than Cuomo. Hochul had presided over the state Senate as lieutenant governor for six years before ascending to the governorship.
But the recent COVID-19 surge led to a significant reduction in attendance: Only a handful of legislative leaders were allowed to attend in person, along with members of Hochul’s family and staff and a handful of pool reporters.
Even the Assembly’s top lawmaker, Speaker Carl Heastie of the Bronx, wasn’t able to attend after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier in the day.
Overhauling Ethics Enforcement
Hochul made clear she wants to eliminate the current version of the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, the often-criticized state board in charge of enforcing ethics laws for lawmakers, government officials and lobbyists in New York.
JCOPE was created in 2011 by Cuomo and state lawmakers. And its effectiveness was called into question almost as soon as it was formed, with several lawmakers saying it was largely controlled by the governor.
The board follows convoluted voting rules and is filled with appointees of the governor and legislative leaders, the very people it is in charge of overseeing.
So Hochul is embracing a major change: She wants to create a five-member board of law school deans or their designees, a move meant to remove political appointees from the process.
“I will introduce legislation to replace that commission with a new ethics enforcement watchdog,” she said. “One with real teeth. One that answers to New Yorkers – not to politicians."
Term Limits For Statewide Officials
Hochul previewed a plan to introduce term limits for statewide elected officials on Monday, when her office touted it as a reform measure in advance of her speech.
Her plan would apply to the four state-level positions – the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and comptroller. If approved, all four positions would be limited to two, four-year terms, much like the president of the United States and, more recently, members of elected office in New York City.
They would also be banned from earning outside income – a clear response to Cuomo’s $5.1 million book deal, which he struck while he was in office and in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
But neither proposal would apply to state lawmakers, which could help boost their potential passage in a legislature with plenty of members wary of term-limiting themselves out of office.
The proposal would require a change to the state Constitution — a lengthy process that requires the legislature to pass the measure in two consecutive sessions before being put to voters in a statewide referendum.
“For government to work, those of us in power cannot continue to cling to it,” Hochul said. “We need to continually pass the baton to new leaders with different perspectives and fresh ideas.”
A Five-Year Housing Plan
Hochul gave the broad outlines of what she’s calling a five-year, $25 billion housing plan for New York.
The plan, she said, will create or preserve 100,000 low-income rental and co-op units spread throughout urban and rural areas in the state. She intends to do that by establishing funds that encourage building new units and preserving current ones, according to her written State of the State message.
Details, however, were scarce. More could come later this month, when she delivers a budget proposal for the 2022-23 fiscal year that is expected to exceed $200 billion. It's unclear how much of those funds will go to New York City.
“So many people not only face tremendous economic hardship, but the double hit is that housing prices have also continued to escalate beyond the reach of many, worsening the situation even more,” Hochul said. “That is why I am launching a new, five-year housing plan to create and preserve 100,000 affordable homes, including 10,000 units with supportive services for high-risk populations, like runaway youth and formerly incarcerated individuals.”
Outside The Capitol, A Protest Against Vaccine Mandates
Attendees and others who entered the state Capitol were required to show proof of vaccination or take a rapid COVID-19 test at a temporary testing center set up in nearby meeting rooms.
Outside the Capitol, hundreds of protesters gathered to rail against vaccine mandates and electronic passports such as the state’s Excelsior Pass. They specifically directed their ire toward the idea of mandating vaccination for K-12 students, an idea Hochul has openly considered but one she stopped short of embracing in her speech.
The rally was organized by a number of organizations across the state, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Children’s Health Defense, which has advanced numerous debunked theories regarding vaccination.
Gene Brooks, 60, of Buffalo, said he attended to speak out against vaccine mandates, which he views as an example of government overreach.
“Just like masks, if you want to wear them, wear them,” Brooks said. “I prefer not to. We can all study our own science and make our own decisions. We don’t need a nanny state telling us how to live our lives.”
In her speech, Hochul briefly mentioned the state’s efforts to boost vaccination rates throughout New York. But she stopped short of embracing any new COVID-related mandates aside from the existing mask mandate for businesses that decline to require vaccination, which she has promised to reevaluate by February 1st.
“We're doing everything we can to keep New Yorkers healthy, setting policies that have made our vaccination rate one of the highest in the country, activating a military-style operation with vax and test sites, deploying the National Guard to our hospitals and nursing homes and sending out 37 million tests across the state,” Hochul said.
