Gotham Gazette

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State of the State

State of the State

  • In 2023 Agenda, Hochul Vows to Make State Government Work Better for New Yorkers

    Gov. Hochul delivers remarks (photo: Darren McGee/Governor's Office)


    When she released her 2023 agenda in January, Governor Kathy Hochul announced a multi-pronged effort to “make government work better for New Yorkers” through improved access to government services and public benefits. How New Yorkers interact with state government will be overhauled and modernized, according to Hochul, in her 277-page State of the Statepolicy book...

  • What Wasn't in Hochul's 2023 State of the State Agenda

    Gov. Hochul delivers her 2023 State of the State (photo: Don Pollard/Governor's Office)


    In her State of the State speech last week, Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, outlined her agenda for the year ahead, pledging continued action on public safety, an ambitious housing plan, major investments in climate action, mental health care, child care, and more. But even as she outlined many planks in her policy agenda, further outlined in a 275-page booklet, there were several areas where she only provided a vague notion of something

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  • Hochul Presents State of the State Agenda Focused on Public Safety, Housing Development, Mental Health Care, Climate Action, & More

    Gov. Hochul (photo: Governor's Office)


    Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday delivered her second State of the State speech, and the first since she was elected to a full term, pledging to tackle crime, boost housing production, advance climate action, and invest heavily in the state’s mental health system to “make New York more affordable, more livable, and safer.”

    Speaking in the Assembly chamber at the Capitol building in Albany, Hochul outlined a broad legislative and policy agenda for the year ahead. It was Hochul’s first fully in-person State of the State address, following last year’s speech

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  • Guideposts for the Governor to Shape a Responsible 2023 Agenda

    Governor Hochul gives her first State of the State (photo: Darren McGee/Governor's Office)


    A year ago, after Governor Hochul had made her first State of the State address, I wrote a column,For State’s Future, The Governor Must Say No, urging her to reject well-intentioned but unwise proposals by legislators and activists. Reading it again now, after Hochul’s

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  • Max Politics Podcast: Analyzing Governor Hochul's 2022 Agenda

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    Governor Hochul delivers her State of the State (photo: Darren McGee/Governor's Office)


    January 19, 2022 - Max Politics Podcast: Analyzing Governor Hochul's 2022 Agenda

    Governor Kathy Hochul has delivered her first State of the State address and presented her first Executive Budget, in combination laying out much of her 2022 agenda. Hochul, seeking election this year to a full term as governor after ascending to the position after Governor Andrew Cuomo's resignation last August, has limited time but flush state

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  • Hochul Presents $216 Billion Executive Budget with Major Spending Plans, Promise of Fiscal Responsibility

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    Gov. Hochul presents her budget (photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)


    Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday put forth a $216.3 billion Executive Budget for the 2023 fiscal year, which begins April 1, making massive proposed investments in education, health care, and infrastructure as the state continues on its road to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Hochul touted a “socially responsible and fiscally prudent” budget plan that will rebuild the state’s health-care and education workforces, provide tax relief to middle

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  • Promising ‘New Era’ of Collaboration and Sweeping Agenda, Hochul Delivers First State of the State Address

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    Governor Hochul delivers her 2022 State of the State (photo: Darren McGee/Governor's Office)


    Governor Kathy Hochul delivered her first State of the State address on Wednesday, laying out a vision for New York's future as the state enters another year of pandemic and economic recovery. Facing a primary in June, Hochul's speech outlined the agenda of her first — and possibly only — full year in office.

    Speaking to the State Legislature and all New Yorkers from the Assembly Chamber — a return to tradition but a break from her predecessor, disgraced former

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  • Cuomo Concludes 2021 State of the State Speeches Invoking ‘New Deal’ with Infrastructure Plan

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    Gov. Cuomo delivering his fourth 2021 State of the State (photo: Mike Groll/Governor's Office)


    In his fourth and final 2021 State of the State speech, Governor Andrew Cuomo committed New York to an ambitious infrastructure program worth hundreds of billions of dollars that he said will create hundreds of thousands of jobs and put the state on the path to recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

    Announcing infrastructure projects spanning the state, Cuomo cited the New Deal under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, which helped revive the nation’s

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  • Cuomo Goes Big on Green Jobs in Third 2021 State of the State

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    (photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)


    Governor Andrew Cuomo delivered his third of four planned State of the State speeches this week on Wednesday, detailing a strategy to fuel the state’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic with a green energy infrastructure and jobs program.

    The transition to a green economy is a part of Cuomo’s broader 2021 State of the State agenda that he unveiled on Monday and has elaborated on in subsequent speeches. On Tuesday, he outlined an economic recovery plan that includes a mass rapid testing program to help people

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  • Cuomo Focuses on Economic Revival in Second 2021 State of the State Speech

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    Gov. Cuomo during his second 2021 SOTS speech (photo: governor's office)


    In his second of four planned State of the State speeches this week, Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday outlined a plan to revive New York’s struggling economy, get New Yorkers back to work, and to prepare them for jobs that adapt to a post-covid future.

    In his first speech on Monday, Cuomo presented a broad

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  • Cuomo Launches 2021 State of the State Agenda with Focus on Covid Recovery, Future of New York Economy

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    Governor Cuomo delivers his annual State of the State speech (photo: Darren McGee/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)


    Governor Andrew Cuomo spoke like an army general rallying his troops as he delivered his first in a series of 2021 State of the State speeches on Monday, from the War Room of the state Capitol building in a virtual address necessitated by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Befitting its setting, Cuomo’s speech was rife with metaphors of a state at war as he outlined a vision for a “post-covid reconstruction” of a “suffering” New

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  • Cuomo's Missing Ethics Agenda

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    Cuomo in 2013 (photo: Governor's Office)


    The government ethics agenda put forth by Governor Andrew Cuomo in his 2020 State of the State is much shorter than those he’s proposed in years passed.

    In fact, it contains just one proposal: legislation mandating some state officials publish their tax returns. Meanwhile, it leaves out several of Cuomo’s past proposals that have yet to be accomplished, including major campaign finance reforms supported by one of his top allies.

    The heavily-truncated list comes after more than a year of controversy

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  • Reactions Roundup: Elected Officials, Advocates & Others on Cuomo's 2020 State of the State Speech

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    (photo: Darren McGee/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)


    On Wednesday, Governor Andrew Cuomo presented his annual State of the Stateaddress from Albany. He opened by highlighting the challenges faced by Americans, and New Yorkers, over recent weeks and years, including earthquakes in Puerto Rico, escalating tensions with Iran, and the surge in hate crimes against Jewish New Yorkers.

    Cuomo gave highlights of New York

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  • 16 Notable Cuomo Proposals Not in His State of the State Speech

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    (photo: Governor's office)


    Governor Andrew Cuomo detailed much of his legislative agenda for the year at his State of the State speech on Wednesday in Albany, outlining various measures that, if enacted, could have wide-ranging impacts on New Yorkers. He gave only a nod, however, to the state’s fiscal picture, including an expected $6.1 billion budget gap for next fiscal year, which he’ll have to address in more detail when he presents his budget plan later this month.

    The governor spoke of his top-line priorities – gun control, health care, workers

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Cuomo's State of the State & What's Next, with Senator Liz Krueger

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    Seantor Liz Krueger, center (photo: New York State Senate)


    January 8, 2020 - Max & Murphy Podcast: Cuomo's State of the State & What's Next, with Senator Liz Krueger

    jan wbai krueger250State Senator Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat and chair of the Senate finance committee, joined the show to give her reactions to Governor Cuomo's State of the State speech,

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  • 5 Things to Watch in Cuomo's State of the State Speech

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    Gov. Cuomo (photo: Mike Groll/Governor's Office)


    Having already released more than 30 proposals, Governor Andrew Cuomo will unveil his full 2020 agenda for this year’s legislative session on Wednesday as he delivers his annual State of the State address in Albany. Unlike last year and several others during his prior nine years as governor, Cuomo’s speech won’t be accompanied with the release of his executive budget proposal, which is expected soon and must address a $6.1 billion projected deficit for the next fiscal year.

    Cuomo’s 2020 agenda will

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  • In State of the State, Cuomo Plots Changes on Education Aid, Medicaid, Marijuana and More

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    (photo: Darren McGee/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)


    In his annual State of the State speech on Wednesday, Governor Andrew Cuomo was at times somber and sobering and, at others, impassioned and defiant as he laid out his legislative agenda for the 2020 session in Albany.

    Speaking before elected and appointed officials, labor leaders, and others who gathered from across the state at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany, Cuomo admitted, “It is going to be a challenging year.” He took stock of the

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  • Even Amid Impeachment Chaos, New Yorkers Must Keep Their Eyes on Albany

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    (photo: the Governor's Office)


    With the eyes of the world focused on the impeachment frenzy currently consuming Washington, D.C., New Yorkers would do well to remember the maxim made famous by the late, great House Speaker Tip O’Neill: “All politics is local.”

    On Wednesday, just one week into the new year and the new decade, Governor Andrew Cuomo will deliver his annual State of the State address – which kicks off the legislative session and unveils his yearly legislative and budgetary priorities. While most New Yorkers may not watch the midday event filled with

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  • 10 Burning Questions After Cuomo’s State of the State and Budget

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    Gov. Cuomo with Lt. Gov. Hochul & legislative leaders (photo: Mike Groll/Governor's Office)


    Governor Andrew Cuomo, a third-term Democrat, delivered his State of the State speech earlier this month, laying out his proposed $175.2 billion executive budget for the 2020 state fiscal year that begins April 1. Calling it his “justice agenda,” Cuomo unveiled a long list of proposals, some new and

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  • 9 Key Takeaways for New York City from Cuomo's State of the State and Budget

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    Mayor de Blasio applauds Governor Cuomo (photo via the Governor's office)


    Governor Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State speech and accompanying $175.2 billion state budget proposal for fiscal year 2020 had something for everything. The 354-page policy book lays out proposals, big and small, on everything from criminal justice reform, transit and infrastructure funding, workforce protections to rent regulations, voting and ethics reform, farmer benefits, legalizing marijuana, women’s rights and reproductive health, LGBTQ protections, and environmental regulation, to name

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  • 15 Notable Cuomo Proposals Not In His State of the State Speech

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    Gov. Cuomo (photo via the Governor's office)


    In his expansive State of the State speech on Tuesday, Governor Andrew Cuomo articulated wide-ranging priorities for the legislative session and the budget for the 2020 fiscal year that is due April 1. But there was plenty left unsaid in the 80-minute speech, included instead in the detailed policy book and budget documents released along with

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  • Cuomo's 2019 Agenda of Election, Campaign Finance and Government Ethics Reforms

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    (Photo via the Governor's office)


    Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed a broad agenda of progressive legislation in his State of the State speech on Tuesday, accompanied by more detailed policy and budget books, including several measures aimed at improving New York’s democracy and increasing public trust in state government.

    Emboldened by full Democratic control of the State Senate and Assembly, after years of a split Legislature where Republicans controlled the upper chamber, Cuomo reiterated many of the proposals that he has repeatedly advanced in vain in

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  • New York City Takeaways from Governor Cuomo's 2018 State of the State

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    Gov. Cuomo delivers his 2018 State of the State (photo: Philip Kamrass/Governor's Office)


    Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled his full policy agenda for the 2018 legislative session on Wednesday, returning to his traditional State of the State format: a single address at the Empire State Convention Center, chock full of slideshow-aided proposals and lofty rhetoric, with legislative leaders of all five conferences and other statewide elected officials accompanying him on stage.

    During the 92-minute speech, Cuomo gave

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  • Cuomo's 2018 State of the State 'Reform' Agenda Largely Repeats Past Proposals

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    Gov. Cuomo at his 2018 State of the State (photo: Philip Kamrass/Governor's Office)


    During his 2018 State of the State speech on Wednesday in Albany, Governor Andrew Cuomo spent little time on government ethics reform, but did address at somewhat greater length his proposals to increase access to the ballot box and change state campaign finance law.

    In sum, the “reform” portion of Cuomo’s remarks were relatively brief, though the governor did expand more on his proposals to change voting, campaign financing,

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  • Previewing Cuomo’s 2018 State of the State

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    Gov. Cuomo (photo via The Governor's Office)


    Governor Andrew Cuomo is set to deliver his 2018 State of the State address on Wednesday in Albany, at which he will outline his policy agenda for the year, his eighth as governor. A Democrat who plans to seek a third term later in the year, Cuomo has been rolling out planks of his State of the State agenda in the weeks leading up to the speech.

    As of Wednesday morning, Cuomo had officially announced 22 pieces of the agenda, each in a separate press release from his office,

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