Alliance Note: Governor Hochul’s State of the State address marks the formal start of the 2026 legislative session and offers early signals about the administration’s priorities heading into a challenging budget year. The Alliance for Rights and Recovery will be closely analyzing the proposals outlined in the address, with a particular focus on implications for mental health and substance use services, community-based supports, and criminal justice related initiatives.
As we review the State of the State, we will be paying close attention to what is included, what is missing, and what these signals may indicate about the Governor’s proposed Executive Budget, which is expected later this month. Given ongoing federal funding threats and policy shifts, this year’s state budget and legislative session will be especially consequential for the services and supports our communities rely on.
We will share timely updates through our Alliance e-news to keep members, advocates, and community partners informed about critical proposals, potential risks, and opportunities for engagement and advocacy as the budget process unfolds and the broader legislative session moves forward.
We encourage our community to stay connected and engaged as we assess the direction of state policy and work together to protect and strengthen services that support rights, recovery, and community well-being across New York State. Join us for our February 10 Legislative day by signing up on this link: Legislative Day 2026 Interest Form.
What to Expect in Hochul’s State of the State Address on Tuesday
By Jack Arpey | Spectrum News 1 | January 12, 2026
For the fifth time since taking office, Gov. Kathy Hochul will deliver her State of the State address Tuesday at The Egg in Albany.
Like practically every politician coast to coast, the message will likely focus heavily on a word that has taken on such prominence that some argue it’s at risk of losing any true meaning: affordability.
For Hochul, it will be a high-profile opportunity to prove that she can and has taken meaningful steps toward making a state known for being expensive more affordable 11 months before she faces voters in November, when they will likely head to the polls with the cost-of-living on their minds.
The governor has spent the opening days of 2026 teasing some of her proposals, while others have made their way into the open through the media.
The centerpiece so far is a plan to move the state toward universal child care by making pre-K truly universal, introducing programs for 2-year-olds and expanding them for 3-year-olds in New York City while introducing pilot programs in key communities in the rest of the state.
“Double the cost of a SUNY or CUNY college education,” she said of the cost of child care last week. “I mean, think about that. Like, ‘OK, I can either take care of my child or pay for college someday?’ What are we talking about here?”
Other proposals include a pitch to crack down on ‘ghost guns,’ a plan to introduce new online protections for children and restrict AI chatbots, a proposal to lower car insurance costs by cracking down on staged car accidents, a measure which would eliminate taxes on tips and another which would expand the state’s nuclear power capacity from 3.4 gigawatts currently to 8.4 gigawatts, as first reported by Syracuse.com.
NY1 learned Monday that Hochul will include legislation mandating federal immigration officials carry a judicial warrant when carrying out civil enforcement in “sensitive locations.”
In Tuesday’s speech, remaining things to look out for include any proposal to change the state’s Raise the Age law, as well as any indication of if Hochul will pursue additional revenue raising options. The governor has stressed that she does not want to raise income taxes on the state’s high earners, but hasn’t ruled out other options like raising the corporate tax rate.
Legislative leaders reacted to Hochul’s proposals that have been released so far Monday.
When it comes to child care, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins told reporters that for the Senate to be on board the state finishing the job when it comes to universal pre-K is key.
“For our conference and my colleagues in the Assembly, we want pre-K for everyone,” she said.
Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt acknowledged the merits of Hochul’s child care plan but raised questions about the scope of the program, and how it could be beneficial without significant attention being paid to the size of the current workforce and other infrastructure issues.
“We could put a trillion dollars for child care in the budget this year and most of my constituents who can’t find child care still wouldn’t be able to find child care because you don’t have the workers,” he said.
The State of the State is a high-profile opportunity for Hochul to not only lay out her agenda but also to contextualize her accomplishments so far in the early stages of her reelection bid.
Her Republican opponent, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, criticized her child care proposal for being too New York City-focused.
“If universal child care is truly a priority for this administration, then it should be implemented fairly and statewide,” he said in a statement last week. “Anything less is an insult to hardworking taxpayers outside New York City.”
Hochul’s primary opponent, Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, who will not attend the speech, offered the very same criticism while at the state Capitol Monday.
“Last time I checked, New York was bigger than the city,” he said. “So, a lot of work left to do.”
Hochul’s SOTS Offense
By NICK REISMAN, EMILY NGO and JEFF COLTIN | Politico | January 13, 2026
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s campaign is starting State of the State day on offense by attacking her likely Republican foe Bruce Blakeman over her signature issue: child care.
The Democratic governor is launching a broadside against the Nassau County executive over his child care record while leading the populous suburban New York county.
Hochul’s campaign points to reports that day care centers are struggling without county subsidies and may be driven out of business.
The attack comes as President Donald Trump’s administration has yanked funding to blue states (although the move has been blocked by a judge) amid a Minnesota fraud scandal — and as Hochul will formally unveil her child care plan when delivering her fifth State of the State address this afternoon.
“Governor Hochul is delivering universal child care and lowering costs for New York families,” Hochul campaign spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki said in a statement to Playbook. “Bruce Blakeman’s record tells a very different story: driving child care providers in Nassau into a ‘death spiral,’ leaving parents and providers in the lurch, and rolling over for Donald Trump’s war on New York families.”
Blakeman spokesperson Chris Boyle rebuffed the criticism.
“Any time there has been an issue regarding childcare services or any youth services, Bruce Blakeman has addressed those issues and solved those problems, unlike Governor Hochul who has been governor for four years and has done nothing to improve childcare in this state,” Boyle said.
Hochul’s State of the State address is being given against the backdrop of a looming reelection bid — making the politics of the moment impossible to divorce from the governor’s unveiling of her 2026 agenda.
POLITICO reports that Hochul will intertwine the push to address voters’ long-standing cost-of-living concerns with aggressive efforts to counteract Trump.
Hochul will call for a bill to block civil immigration enforcement actions without a judicial warrant in sensitive locations, like schools, hospitals and houses of worship.
The governor will also propose protecting student loan borrowers — a reaction to Trump’s effort to garnish the wages of people who fall behind on payments. She wants to bolster farmers whose businesses have been disrupted by Trump’s tariffs by providing $30 million in direct payments to agricultural producers.
But child care remains a touchstone issue for the governor and one that she shares with New York City’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani.
The 34-year-old former state assemblymember will be on hand today for Hochul’s speech, after the governor’s (albeit expected) embrace of free child care handed him an early win after a rocky initial week in office.
Democrats need Hochul to be a strong top of the ticket this year — aiding down-ballot House candidates along the way as the party seeks majority control of the closely divided chamber.
Some New York lawmakers, though, believe the stakes are higher given Trump’s maximalist view of his power extending to controlling blue states.
“We have an obligation to set the pace and the tone for what the rest of the country is doing,” said Brooklyn Assemblymember Brian Cunningham, a Democrat and potential Hochul running mate. “Given New York’s reputation, we’re the Empire State, we’re the natural cultural setter. Just having that kind of bravado in film, Broadway and sports, we apply that to our politics.” — Nick Reisman