Momentum Comes to the Budget: After Both the Assembly and Senate Rejected Her Policy Priorities, Gov. Hochul Must Push Forward on Housing, Charter Schools and Bail Reform

The Democratic-dominated Assembly and Senate, in their single-house budgets, reject three of the Democratic governor’s most important policy priorities. Under well-established legal precedent, Kathy Hochul has the upper hand in the tug of war. She must put on her gloves and pull her with all her might.

Hochul knows that the only way to make New York more livable is to build a lot more homes, especially in the suburbs. So it has laid out ambitious plans to generate more units, including denser “transit-oriented development” close to train stations.

The Legislature, both houses, said no, opting for weak prescriptions that won’t move the needle.

Hochul rightly wants to further tighten the pretrial detention laws passed in 2019 to give judges more discretion in setting bail in misdemeanor and high-level violent crime cases. While she, like us, knows that reforms have not been the main drivers of the post-2019 rise in crime, and while she, like us, criticizes an old system that locked up a lot of people based on how much cash they had, he also knows that New York is the only outlier state among 50 states that prohibits judges from considering the potential danger an accused individual poses to society. Instead, she always and only requires judges to set the least restrictive conditions requiring a return to court, a requirement the governor now seeks to tweak.

The Legislature, both chambers, said no.

And instead of maintaining a pernicious cap on charter schools that limits the growth of quality alternative schools, Hochul wants to allow more charter public schools to open in New York City. This should be easy in a city that has seen Fall enrollment in traditional public schools. in recent years.

The Legislature, both chambers, said no.

Meanwhile, both houses increased the overhead tab. The Governor increased operating funds by 2%; the Assembly and the Senate, 8.7% and 10.8% respectively.

TO 2001 judgment of the state supreme court it gave the governor great influence over the Legislature. Gob: Wield that power wisely to get the back changes your champion approved.