ALBANY – Gov. Kathy Hochul’s “State of the State” agenda for 2026 will embody new insurance policies barring ICE at “delicate places,” permitting upstate cities to check autonomous autos, a brand new downstate semiconductor chip design middle and one other tuition freeze for CUNY and SUNY faculties, The Submit has discovered.
In her fifth “State of the State” deal with Tuesday, the upstate Democrat will attempt to strike a fragile steadiness between supporting Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Democratic socialist imaginative and prescient for New York Metropolis whereas not isolating average and unbiased voters she must safe reelection this November.
Based on draft notes of Hochul’s presentation shared with The Submit, she will even push a “Let Them Construct” agenda to make “frequent sense reforms” to native growth processes, implement 25-foot protest-free buffer zones round homes of worship and abortion clinics, broaden youngster look after New York Metropolis 2-year-olds, crack down on bogus automotive insurance coverage scams, pay to maintain cops on in a single day subway trains and arrange 4 new quantum computing hubs throughout the state.
High highlights of Hochul’s State of the State agenda embody:
Immigration:
Laws going after “unchecked federal aggression,” permitting New Yorkers to sue ICE and different federal brokers for violating their constitutional rights in state court docket
Laws to bar ICE raids at delicate places similar to faculties, homes of worship and hospitals and not using a judicial warrant
Affordability
Present state funds for the primary two years of Mamdani’s initiative to convey “common youngster care” to New York Metropolis. This contains increasing town’s 3K program to 2-year-olds, with 2,000 spots opening later this yr at the price of $75 million
Cracking down on insurance coverage fraud, particularly schemes involving staged automotive accidents
Calling for an additional freeze in tuition for SUNY and CUNY for the second yr
Increasing alternatives without spending a dime neighborhood school for college kids in high-demand professions
Making “frequent sense reforms” to the state’s environmental overview course of for large growth course of “to hurry up the supply of housing and different essential infrastructure tasks that New Yorkers want” together with a two-year deadline on tasks.
“She’s preaching to the choir. It’s a wise transfer politically,” one increased training supply instructed The Submit of the tutoring freeze.
“The legislature just isn’t going to approve a tuition enhance in an election yr,” the supply added.
On-line and Synthetic Intelligence
Proposing a collection of measures proscribing children’ entry to AI chatbots, limiting how strangers can attain out to children by means of on-line platforms similar to Roblox, and implementing parental controls over children’ skill to ship cash on-line.
Limiting using “deep fakes” of a candidate in political campaigns
Creating a brand new “Workplace of Digital Innovation, Authorities, Integrity, and Belief” to be an “authoritative physique” on technological governance
“Industries of the Future”
Plans to construct downstate semiconductor chip design middle
Creating as much as 4 quantum laptop hubs statewide
Public Security
Sustaining police presence on the subways in a single day
Growing the presence of SCOUT (Subway Co-Response Outreach Groups) – pairing MTA police with psychological well being professionals – to handle extreme psychological well being crises and homelessness within the subway system
Including extra security boundaries to subway platforms
Implementing a 25-foot buffer zone prohibiting protests round homes of worship and abortion clinics to restrict harassment
Transportation
Permitting municipalities exterior New York Metropolis to authorize momentary experiments for autonomous autos
Giving New York Metropolis the power to put in “velocity help know-how” on autos of repeat “tremendous speeders”
Selling the continuance of the 2nd Avenue subway enlargement and Jamaica Station redevelopment
Hochul is ready to ship her speech Tuesday afternoon at 1 p.m. on the “Egg” performing arts middle on the Empire State Plaza in Albany to a packed home of lawmakers and different political bigwigs.
The speech is historically scant on particulars, with the nitty-gritty to be specified by the governor’s govt price range presentation later this month.
Hochul’s crew didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
