Governor Andrew Cuomo wants to start the new year with the state’s biggest-ever environmental bond act, funding $3 billion to restore fisheries, streams, wetlands and forests across New York State.
Cuomo spoke for nearly two hours, laying out more than 30 objectives he wants to accomplish in the upcoming state legislative session. They include another push to legalize (and tax) recreational marijuana, expanding gun control measures against so-called “ghost guns” assembled from spare parts, more funding for affordable housing and to fight homelessness, and bringing better cellphone service to parts of the state where reception is iffy.
Cuomo also said he’ll keep fighting vaping and e-cigarettes.
Cuomo spoke about the progressive history of New York politics and said he’ll build on that foundation.
The governor only briefly addressed the state’s $6.1 billion budget gap, saying 95% of it is due to Medicaid costs and the program needs to be restructured.
