With the 2026 Legislative Session underway in Albany, Assemblyman Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square) and his colleagues in the New York State Assembly Minority Conference have unveiled their policy agenda for the year ahead. The comprehensive legislative platform, Fight For New York, advances policies focused on delivering fiscal relief, protecting taxpayers, creating economic growth and job opportunities and improving the quality of life for 20 million New Yorkers.

“This plan is the culmination of what we, as representatives from across the state, have heard directly from our local communities,” said Ra. “We’re hearing daily from New Yorkers about the astronomical cost of living, removing choice when it comes to how we can heat our homes, real, understandable concerns about public safety, limited job opportunities and the disturbing rise in antisemitism. Many have also shared their frustration and sadness that they can’t afford to raise a family in New York because of the high cost of child care. Plans like ours build confidence by showing New Yorkers their concerns are being heard and we’re ready to act on them.”

Several of Assemblyman Ra’s legislative priorities are directly reflected in the key pillars of the Assembly Minority’s 2026 agenda, including efforts to lower child care costs, combat antisemitism, restore fiscal discipline and protect taxpayers.

Making child care more affordable is one of Ra’s top priorities. He has introduced several bills to lower costs for families through expanded tax credits, including the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (A.2314), Empire State Child Credit (A.2492) and the Child Care Creation & Expansion Tax Credit (A.2393).

Ra is also leading efforts to stand with the Jewish community and make clear antisemitism will not be tolerated. His legislation, the Dismantling Student Antisemitism Act (A.2376), requires mandated training and incident reporting and prohibits state funding from going to institutions that fail to address antisemitic conduct.

Fiscal discipline and government accountability is a central focus for Ra. He has introduced a package of reforms to control state spending and improve budget transparency through strengthening the state’s reserve funds (A.2258) and advancing debt reform legislation to curb back-door borrowing and reduce long-term liabilities. To strengthen legislative oversight and restore checks and balances, Ra has proposed reinforcing the Legislature’s role in fiscal decision-making, including mandating earlier access to enacted budget financial plans (A.3940) to ensure voting on major budget bills is based on a complete financial picture.

Protecting taxpayer dollars is another priority reflected in the 2026 agenda. Ra has called for state spending audits on failed or opaque initiatives, including legislation requiring the comptroller to audit funds allegedly used to aid migrants (A.2505) and mandating a comprehensive forensic audit of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to identify inefficiencies, redundancies and governance failures and provide actionable reforms to improve accountability (A.6088).

Ra also strongly supports job creation and workforce development. His Learning for Work Program is a three-part initiative designed to prepare students for in-demand careers while reducing student loan debt, including a Youth Apprenticeship Program beginning in 11th or 12th grade, an enhanced Regents Professional Degree aligned with career pathways and guaranteed SUNY or CUNY credit for participating students. Ra has additionally introduced a Youth Apprenticeship Tax Credit to encourage employer participation (A.2118).

“As the legislative session gets underway, my colleagues and I will focus on creating a more affordable New York through these avenues,” Ra continued. “Standing up for working families, supporting small businesses, backing law enforcement and first responders and restoring accountability in state government are at the core of our agenda.”

Visit the Assembly Minority Policy Committee website and policy agenda.