Local legislators react to Governor Hochul’s State of the State address

Gov. Kathy Hochul delivered her 2025 State of the State address on Tuesday, and while many details of her budget proposals won’t be available until the actual Executive Budget is released next week, her address and accompanying State of the State book provided a preview of what is to come. 

The book, a rough summary of the budget, is in itself 126 pages long. The Executive Budget will be 10 times that size.

Among the initiatives on which the address focused were a commitment to cutting taxes for the middle class, including expanding the child tax credit; providing universal free school meals; putting the state on the path to universal child care; expanding investments in crime prevention technology and equipment for local law enforcement agencies; improving the state’s mental health care system; encouraging kids to get off their phones and stay active; addressing the housing shortage and affordability; fund major improvements in rail service for the Hudson Valley; and “an over $1 billion climate investment to achieve a more sustainable and affordable future.” 

Hochul also said she would make a $500 million funding commitment for clean water, strengthen the health care system, and provide new and expanded support for New Yorkers with disabilities.

The Recorder asked our local state legislators for their initial reactions to what the governor had to say.

State Sen. Pete Harckham, whose district includes Bedford and Lewisboro, issued a video response. 

“There were some good ideas on affordability, expanding the middle class tax cuts we’ve passed five of the last six years, expanding the child tax credit we passed last year,” he said. 

He also liked the idea of creating universal school meals in all schools, “something that many of us have been pushing for the last couple of years.” 

However, said Harckham, who is chair of the Environmental Conservation Committee, “I must say I was very disappointed that there was very little discussion of climate change and other environmental issues.” He noted that in the book that accompanied the address, a Cap-and-Invest program was pushed back another two years. “That was a major capstone of the CLCPA,” he said — the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which Harckham said was supposed to go into effect this year. 

“They’ve had two years to work out the regulations, they’ve proposed very detailed plans of what the three levels might look like, but unfortunately it’s being pushed off — not something I’m a fan of.” 

Harckham noted the budget comes out next week, and “as with all this stuff the devil is in the details and we’ll keep you posted.” 

State Sen. Shelley Mayer, whose district includes Pound Ridge, said the governor’s State of the State speech “was an excellent starting point from which to address the issues we all face as New Yorkers. I greatly appreciate her focus on affordability and public safety and her commitment to ensuring young people have the support they need to learn and flourish, particularly free school meals.”

Mayer said she was “very pleased” to see her own bill, Senate Bill S36A “to protect our reproductive health care providers who provide care to non-NYS residents” included in the State of the State book. The bill would allow providers prescribing medication abortion drugs to request that the dispensing pharmacy print the name of their practice on the label, instead of the physician’s. She also appreciated “the innovative ideas for free community college tuition to support post-graduate job readiness,” as well as the governor’s “continued attention to our EMS providers,” which she called “a solid step toward acknowledging that they are ‘essential providers.’”

“I look forward to reviewing the details of the plans she outlined,” said Mayer, “and those relating to school funding, which will be included in her Executive Budget proposal next week. I will continue to work closely and constructively with all of my colleagues to find solutions to the challenges my constituents face; and, as chair of the Senate Committee on Education, to ensure that students throughout New York state receive a high-quality education, regardless of zip code or need.” 

Assemblymember Chris Burdick, whose district includes Bedford, Lewisboro and Pound Ridge, said, “I think that there’s some good things in the budget. I’m enthusiastic about her universal school meals, her expanded child care credit, and happy to see a middle class tax cut.” He is also pleased to see expanded mental health services.

“I will be interested to see what she has in the actual budget about support for CUNY and SUNY,” he said. “And I didn’t see what she has to say about Foundation Aid for public schools; I hope we don’t have a big squabble over that as we did last year. That’s a big question mark.”

Burdick also said he would have liked to see more of what the governor is doing about climate change. “She did make some recommendations about it, but given how immediate the need is for action, I would have liked to see more. That’s something that needs work, and I expect we will be having some discussions with her. There were some discussions we had in 2024 that did not get legislation over the finish line.”

Another area Burdick would like to see some explanation of is what’s being planned for the Department of Transportation, roads and bridges. “Hudson Valley District 8 doesn’t get the amount of support it should,” he said. “That needs to be addressed.” 

Regarding housing, Burdick said he liked what he heard, “but one of the concerns I have is that while she trumpeted the 2024 package of measures that were incorporated in the budget, it was really NYC-centric. I don’t see much that addresses the dire need for affordable housing outside the city of New York.”

Burdick would also like to see a clarification of one section of the State of the State book on investing in water infrastructure, which says, “Building on the state’s $5.5 billion commitment, she will invest an additional $500 million in water infrastructure to reduce water bills, combat flooding,” etc.

“I’m not quite sure what that is,” said Burdick. “Last year we had to restore what would have been cuts in funding needed for the water infrastructure act — that includes the grant that goes to Pound Ridge. That was going to be cut from $500 million to $250 million, but we pushed back and had it restored. So I have questions; I’m not sure what she means about investing another $500 million.”

One sentence that is very hopeful, said Burdick, is, “To further address gaps, she will launch a pilot program providing financial assistance for private well owners to replace or treat contaminated wells.” He said that sounds like the bill he and Harckham have sponsored, directing the DEC to establish a PFAS removal installation grant program. “The good thing about this is it’s a starting point, and Pete and I might be able to get our bill into the budget.”