Blair Horner

New York lawmakers return to Albany this week after the President’s Week break. Normally state lawmakers would buckle down to hammering out a budget agreement, due by March 31st. The week they were gone, however, the world dramatically changed.

Media stories from across the state are reporting the same thing – New York’s energy prices are going up, a lot. One ConEd customer in New York City was reported to have seen her utility bill triple in one month from $163.73 in December to a whopping $512.07 by the end of January.

Last week, state lawmakers continued their examination of Governor Hochul’s budget, in particular her higher education plans, by holding public hearings. It was clear from the testimonies at the higher education hearing that there was widespread support for the proposals advanced by the governor, but that there was also broad agreement that her plan did not tackle the daunting challenges facing colleges across New York.

Last week, Governor Hochul and New York’s political leaders agreed on new boundaries for Congressional and state legislative districts. The lines were drawn by the Legislature’s Democratic majorities and the upshot is likely to result in a big hit on the dwindling political clout of the state GOP.

A rapidly heating planet, rising sea levels, oceans choked with plastic pollution, landfills overflowing with solid wastes, an increasingly decrepit drinking water infrastructure, and industrial chemical hazards menacing drinking water – these threats and others are the backdrop for lawmakers’ review of Governor Hochul’s proposed environmental budget this week.

It’s political science 101: The executive proposes and the legislative branch disposes. Last week, Governor Hochul proposed her $216 billion state budget. Her plans include not only spending proposals, but policy changes as well.

It’s a political truism that budgets are about priorities. This week, Governor Hochul will show New Yorkers hers. The debate over the governor’s budget plans will be the most critical action of the current legislative session.

As with all State of the State addresses, Governor Hochul’s covered a wide range of issues, large and small, having both regional as well as statewide appeal. Her speech understandably focused on the pandemic and health care, followed by her plans to curb gun violence, help stimulate economic development, increase the state’s housing stock, and tackle the threat posed by a rapidly heating planet.

This week, New York Governor Kathy Hochul delivers her first “State of the State” address. Commentator Blair Horner, executive director of the New York Public Interest Research Group, details some of the top issues facing the state.

Last week, Governor Hochul acted on a half dozen pieces of legislation that covered drinking water supply safety, lead exposure in school drinking water, plastic waste, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector, pesticides in kids’ summer camps, and fracking wastes being used on roadways. She got five right and one – the use of fracking waste – wrong.