Governor Kathy Hochul's "new era for New York" agenda is sparking reaction from elected officials on both sides of the aisle.
Fellow Democrat Angelo Santabarbara represents the 111th Assembly district. He says securing funding to boost the economy will help schools and upstate families recover from the damage and challenges wrought by the pandemic.
“We made some progress over the past year, but we've got a long road ahead of us," said Santabarbara. "I'm going to continue my role as chair of the Rural Resources Commission, I'm going to keep focusing on the needs of our upstate communities. Broadband was one of those infrastructure needs that was mentioned, in the state of the state, I'm happy to hear that. I know there's a study that's in progress from a bill that we passed last year. But it's very important for, when we talk about businesses, recovering businesses, being able to thrive and being able to move forward, that broadband service is essential, we have to make sure that it is extended to our rural communities amongst our renewed focus on upstate infrastructure needs. “
Assemblyman Mike Lawler, a Republican from the 97th district, dismisses Hochul’s speech as “more of the same,” not much of a change from Governor Cuomo's policies.
“Many of the problems we’re facing as the state predated COVID-19. And yet she is putting forth an agenda that continues many of the same policies that have created this mess in the first place," Lawler said. "New York State is unaffordable, it's unaffordable for hard working middle class families all across our state. It's unsafe in many of our major cities, with rapid increases in violent crime. And our freedoms are being restricted every day in the name of COVID, and then in the name of social justice, and I think, really what needs to happen here is a wholesale change.”
Assemblyman John McDonald, a Democrat who represents the 108th district, says Hochul's agenda is "comprehensive, broad and ambitious." He cited proposals to support health care professionals and help small businesses.
"I was very pleased to see the Doctors Across New York program is proposed to be expanded. And the creation of the Nurses Across New York program is to be created as well," McDonald said. "This program focuses on tuition forgiveness for those doctors and potentially nurses who commit to three years of service in underserved areas. And glad to see the governor's proposing to make permanent and statue the alcohol to go program that is going to help our small businesses. I think this can be done with the right formula where it will not have a detrimental impact on the liquor stores because they've expressed concerns in the past and that as alcohol should be in moderation, I think this bill could be designed such that it'd be in moderation as well."
Republican Assemblyman Robert Smullen of the 118th District said he was intrigued by Hochul’s call for a two-term limit on statewide elected officials, but hoped she would have taken a firmer stance on bail reform.
“You know, one of the major issues that we face in 2019, since the so called bail reforms, is lack of judicial discretion setting bail," Smullen said. "We're not getting up on it. I think it's a very important issue for law and order and for the rule of law, and I really think that it needs to be addressed. And whether, you know, we're advocating for an outright repeal of it. But we also would be happy to work to get some common sense measures put into the into the bail reform area.”
Democratic State Senator Michelle Hinchey represents the 46th District and chairs the Agriculture Committee.
“The last time that farmers were mentioned in the state of the state, it was a picture of a field with solar panels on it," said Hinchey. "So the fact that we were actually, you know, there's a lot of real concrete plans to support farmers, many of which we have been promoting, over the last year and have been talking to the governor's office or the governor's team about , is really exciting. Broadband expansion, something that is critical, so many communities, we are living on the wrong side of the digital divide. They knew they were facing gross inequities. But what COVID did was really unveiled, how many families how many communities are really living without reliable access to the internet. We have to change that. And the governor is making that a priority.”
Republican State Senator Jim Tedisco of the 49th district says Hochul’s speech didn't adequately address the state’s lagging population.
"You can't keep blaming everything on the pandemic this, this out migration has been happening for years; we lost 30 to 35 representatives over the last 30 to 40 years, because of the population loss, we've got to turn that around," Tedisco said. "And any agenda she has a has to have an agenda for incentivizing people to stay in New York, I didn't quite see that. I liked some of the things she said about mental health. I think that's got to be invested in. I think we have to have real investment with our Foundation Aid that we now have for our schools. But there's got to be some autonomy, because there's diversity in our school system. We got urban, rural and suburban areas, and we should be providing not a whole bunch of different plans where their money can be spent mandate to be spent, but give them the opportunity to have some autonomy in local school districts. But basically, she's got to start talking about maybe close to a total readjustment in many areas, to incentivize people to stay in New York state."
