“Gov. Hochul addressed numerous issues many New York families are gravely concerned about as she was finally forced to face the music from frustrated residents being driven out-of-state due to the high cost of living and serious public safety issues. Yet, Hochul’s band-aid ‘solutions’ to these issues leave a lot to be desired and her lack of consistency in her proposals is glaring.

“The Governor’s Congestion Pricing Plan also aims to help dig the MTA out of the deep financial pit it dug for itself due to its blatant mismanagement — something New York taxpayers should not be made responsible for fixing. Furthermore, while the Governor’s Congestion Pricing Plan might help keep our environment cleaner, in the long run, it will be extremely detrimental to businesses and suburban Long Island commuters.

“It is also interesting to see the Governor unveil proposals in her State of the State speech that look bizarrely similar to proposals introduced by the Assembly Minority Conference. One of her newer proposals aims to expand the Empire State Child Tax Credit for instance, a move originally sponsored by Assemblyman Ed Ra that was blocked by the Ways & Means Committee in 2024 (A.9257 of 2024). The Governor also proposes to help train students in school districts to identify mental health crises in their peers — ideas reflected in my own proposals to help build an emotionally supportive educational environment in our schools. Dialing back on cellphone usage during classroom instruction (A.9687, K. Brown) and protecting children from exploitative features in online products (A.8314, K. Brown) would help improve the mental and emotional health and well-being of our students throughout the school year.

“New Yorkers are tired of enduring the Governor’s band-aid solutions to deep-rooted issues and hearing her priorities constantly flip flop to improve her reputation among voters. It is time the Governor acknowledges the common-sense ideas the Assembly Minority have promoted for years and work with us to create a safer, smarter and cleaner New York state for all.”