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In her 2023 State of the State address on Tuesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul pledged to not raise income taxes this year and announced a slate of new community investments set to begin implementation across New York state in 2023.

In the Tuesday address Hochul also proposed actions to mitigate issues like public safety, mental health and childcare in the state, as well as commemorating legislative achievements of 2022. Hochul outlined her goals for 2023 as making the state “more affordable, more liveable and safer.”

Hochul also focused on public safety over the past year, emphasizing the importance of both gun control laws and mental health resources in efforts to successfully decrease crime rates. In the address, which she delivered at the New York state Capitol in Albany, Hochul announced that in 2023 she will work to invest $1 billion in mental healthcare.

Hochul also highlighted the state laws enacted in 2022 which targeted gun violence, including those which raised the legal purchase age to 21, banned ghost guns and mandated “Red Flag” laws to confiscate guns.

The mental health funding will go to expanding psychiatric treatment center capacities and reducing costs, as well as re-integration services and childhood preventative care, Hochul said. Drug addiction and overdoses will also be conditions included in the mental healthcare funding program.

“We have underinvested in mental health care for so long, and allowed the situation to become so dire, that it has become a public safety crisis, as well,” Hochul said.

In a look back to legislative and economic accomplishments of 2022, Hochul pointed to the multi-billion dollar investments in upstate New York from IBM and Micron, as well as to the right to abortion being codified as New York state law.

“As other states continue to slide backwards when it comes to basic and fundamental rights, we will protect and enshrine those rights,” Hochul said. “And we will continue to be nation-leading in every way.”

In light of the new economic opportunities coming to New York, Hochul laid out plans for the New York Housing Compact, an initiative set to invest in housing development in communities across the state. The Compact has a goal of creating 800,000 new homes over the next 10 years, Hochul said. She acknowledged that the plan was “ambitious,” adding that housing targets would vary by locality. The goal benchmark for increased properties in Upstate New York is 1%, while in downstate New York it is 3%, Hochul said.

Hochul added that the housing development investment will go not only to building more homes, but also include provisions for developing unused properties like malls and office parks, updating zoning laws and increasing funding for schools and infrastructure.

Transportation will be an integral part of the housing development plan, Hochul said, specifically via investment in the Metro Transit Authority in New York City and commuter rails.

“Our investments in our world-class commuter rail lines have connected more people to jobs, and created more thriving downtowns,” Hochul said. “So as part of the Compact, any municipality with a train station will rezone the area within a half-mile of the station, to allow for the creation of new housing… within the next three years.”

Affordability of key resources and services for New Yorkers was another main focus. She highlighted energy and childcare as essentials that have become too expensive for many New York families, especially low-income families. Energy prices are 20% to 30% higher compared to a year ago, she said, as well as that monthly household costs for low-income families are 13% higher. Hochul announced $165 million in household utility cost relief and $7 billion in childcare funding.

Hochul’s energy plan also includes a plan to help low-income families shift their heating systems from fossil fuels to clean energy. This is in line with Hochul’s October plan to phase out sales of gas-only vehicles and switch fully to zero-emission vehicles by 2035.

In her concluding remarks, Hochul described her upcoming initiatives as “daunting,” but added that she will continue legislative efforts to support communities across the state.

“We will make New York safer. We will make New York more affordable. We will create more jobs and opportunities for the New Yorkers of today and tomorrow,” Hochul said. “We will open doors to the communities and people who’ve historically been blocked from equal chances at success.”

Published on January 16, 2023 at 1:19 am

Contact Stephanie: spwright@syr.edu