“In her State of the State address, Governor Hochul rightfully acknowledged many of the issues New Yorkers care about, namely public safety, affordable housing and the opioid and mental health epidemics. But overall, her overarching plan to address these topics and also get our state’s economy trending in the right direction ultimately miss the mark.

“While the governor acknowledged that bail reform must be addressed, her proposal failed to both address changing which crimes are bail-eligible and restoring judicial discretion. Expanding affordable housing is a top priority in communities across our state. The governor simply mandating an expansion of affordable housing treats the symptom of the issue and not the cause, which are the high price of regulation, construction, energy and labor. These are the biggest drivers in housing costs and the major impediments in expanding affordable housing.

“Affordability did not receive the full attention it deserves. The governor’s plan to increase minimum wage and index it to inflation will simply drive up prices on residents and businesses at a time when we currently face economic uncertainty and an escalating cost of living. We’ve seen an exodus of New Yorkers over the past several years, and failure to address the affordability issue will only allow this trend to continue.

“These are just some of the issues that stand out at first glance of the governor’s 277-page agenda. In the days ahead, I’ll be digging deeper into the particulars of the governor’s plans and hearing her upcoming Executive Budget proposal. I look forward to working with the governor and my legislative colleagues to achieve common ground where possible and speaking out on the proposals that I believe will have a negative impact on our communities.”

Stec represents the 45th Senate District, which includes all of Essex County.