New York Gov. Hochul delivers State of the State: 'Your family. Your future. My fight.'
ALBANY, New York (WABC) -- Governor Kathy Hochul today delivered her 2026 State of the State address Tuesday, outlining more than 200 initiatives to make life more affordable, keep New Yorkers safe, and expand opportunity.
Hochul announced a path to universal child care, to lowering energy bills, protecting consumers, and confronting rising costs.
She proposed establishing new guardrails on federal immigration enforcement during her fifth State of the State.
One piece of legislation seeks to prohibit ICE raids at sensitive locations like schools, churches and hospitals without a judicial warrant.
Another allows New Yorkers to sue ICE for violating their constitutional rights in state court.
As for affordability, the governor reiterated her commitment to expanding universal child care and called for another freeze in tuition for SUNY and CUNY schools.
She always wants less red tape when it comes to building affordable housing and wants to strengthen rent relief for seniors and New Yorkers with disabilities.
The governor also wants to protect affordable health care and vaccine coverage.
Hochul said she stands by congestion pricing, which is one year in and raising hundreds of millions of dollars for the MTA, but she wants to ensure that subways are safer.
She proposed an expansion of homeless outreach teams in the subways.
Hochul also wants a first-in-the-nation law that requires software that blocks 3-D printers from creating guns to get ghost guns off the street.
And following up on her bell-bell school cell phone ban, she wants to limit chat bots interfacing with kids.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, Hochul's presumptive opponent in November's gubernatorial race, held a media availability immediately following Hochul's address at Nassau Republican Headquarters in Westbury.
"Last year, the Governor made affordability the centerpiece of her State of the State," Blakeman said. "One year later, New York is even less affordable, less safe, and deeper in debt."
Blakeman said Hochul has had ample time to deliver results on affordability, energy costs, health care, child care, and public safety - and has fallen short on every front.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani traveled to Albany to attend the address, his first trip back since May.
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