A look at what’s on the legislative horizon for New York Gov. Hochul postelection

ALBANY — Gov. Hochul has her work cut out for her.

The Buffalo native made history earlier this month as she became the first woman elected to lead the Empire State in a narrow win over a crime-focused Republican challenger.

Now, Hochul is gearing up for a full four-year term at the helm and will soon set an agenda that will serve as a blueprint for New York’s postpandemic future.

Crime, climate, inflation and housing policies are likely to be among the governor’s top priorities as she prepares to work with fellow Democrats in Albany when the Legislative session begins in January.

Here’s a breakdown of what could be some of the top agenda items for the Hochul administration going forward.

CRIME

On Election Day, Hochul beat Republican rival Lee Zeldin by only five points, the tightest margin seen in a governor’s race in decades.

Crime became the defining issue of the contest as Zeldin ripped Dem-backed criminal justice reforms and accused Hochul of not taking New Yorkers’ concerns seriously.

On bail reform, which critics, including Mayor Adams, have blamed for upticks in crime, Hochul has repeatedly said she wants to see data following changes passed as part of her first budget earlier this year before readdressing the issue.

The tweaks passed in April expanded the number of bail-eligible crimes and gave judges greater leeway when determining whether to hold someone pre-trial.

“We will look at the data — we’ll see what’s working, we’ll see what’s not working,” the governor said during a press conference at the State Capitol last month. “Six months of data is still a small sampling, but we’ll be able to see what’s going on and we’ll be able to see the nationwide phenomenon.”

Hochul has touted her work with Adams on addressing crime in the five boroughs, arguing that the state is already working with the city by adding police and cameras to the subway and pouring money into efforts to combat the influx of illegal guns from out of state.

Advocates are already gearing up to push Hochul and legislative leaders on additional criminal justice reforms, hoping to steer the conversation towards sentencing overhauls.

The “Communities Not Cages” coalition held rallies across the state last week, previewing a focus on reforms that would eliminate mandatory-minimum sentencing and expand the ability of those serving time to apply for sentence reductions.

HOUSING

Hochul has said repeatedly in recent interviews that affordable housing will be a top priority for her administration.

“People want to live in this state, people want to be able to raise their kids in the towns and cities they grew up in, and we now have a real shortage of affordable housing,” Hochul told Buffalo-based WIBV-4 in her first postelection interview.

The issue could be a contentious one as progressive lawmakers prepare to once again push for the passage of a “good cause eviction” bill that would cap rent increases and make it easier to renew leases.

Hochul will also likely readdress a controversial tax credit for real estate developers meant to encourage the building of affordable housing that lapsed earlier this year.

The abatement, known as 421-a, previously lapsed for several months in 2016 before being eventually renewed by lawmakers.

The governor floated a replacement in her executive budget during the previous legislative session that would have offered a 3½-decade property tax exemption in exchange for developers setting aside a percentage of rental units as affordable.

The fight over “good cause,” meanwhile, has been brewing since the bill was first introduced in 2019. The measure would restrict rent increases to either 3% or 1.5 times the inflation rate, whichever is higher. It would also prevent landlords from denying lease renewals to tenants who have consistently abided by the terms of their leases.

CLIMATE

New Yorkers overwhelmingly approved a $4.2 billion environmental bond act on ballots earlier this month that will grant the state borrowing power to address environmental concerns, cut pollution, improve sewer and water infrastructure and boost conservation efforts.

During her first year in office, Hochul touted major renewable energy projects and championed the state’s mandate requiring all cars sold by 2035 to be zero-emissions vehicles.

She also signed an executive order requiring 100% of the electricity used in official New York operations must come from renewable energy by 2030 as the state strives to attain the ambitious goals laid out in the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.

The CLCPA commits New York to reaching 100% zero-emission electricity by 2040 and a reduction of at least 85% below the 1990-level of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Still, several pieces of legislation that would aid the state in achieving net zero emissions stalled last session and remain on the table.

The Build Public Renewals Act would authorize the New York Power Authority to build, own and operate more renewable energy projects. The bill passed the Senate but stalled in the Assembly during the last session. Lawmakers hosted a hearing on the measure over the summer, sparking hope among supporters that it will be revisited when lawmakers return to Albany in January.

Another bill would ban fossil fuels in new construction, something Hochul has said she supports. Environmental groups have called on the governor to support an immediate ban as opposed to a slower approach.

INFLATION

New York lost a seat in Congress following the 2020 census, and recent numbers from the Internal Revenue Service show nearly half a million people left the state in 2019 and 2020.

The population loss was a major talking point for Zeldin on the campaign trail, while Hochul has vowed to bring jobs back to the state to entice New Yorkers to stay.

The governor has touted a $100 billion deal to build a semiconductor manufacturing plant near Syracuse that is projected to bring an estimated 50,000 jobs to the area over the next 20 years.

Hochul is also eyeing other ways to help ease the pain of inflation on New Yorkers as heating and electric bills rise and the cost of everything from groceries to gas increases.

A suspension of part of the state’s gas tax that Hochul implemented earlier this year is set to expire at the end of December. Some lawmakers are pushing for an extension as prices at the pump have slowly ticked higher in recent months.

In September, Hochul called on utility and gas companies to refrain from jacking up prices for homeowners and said the state is looking for ways to make sure New Yorkers have access to “assistance and programs that help manage these rising costs while keeping their homes warm during the colder months.”