New York Governor Kathy Hochul delivered her first State of the State address Wednesday, pledging a $10 billion investment in the state’s healthcare system to help alleviate the COVID-caused staffing crisis. Hochul also promised to boost SUNY enrollment and make it a premier university system. She pledged more than $2 billion in tax cuts for middle class homeowners and small business owners as well.
Hochul will offer health care workers retention benefits of up to $3,000 each to stay in New York and keep their jobs. Many have been quitting during the high-stress pandemic. $2 billion will go to support wages in the healthcare system, and another $2 billion to improve heath care infrastructure. She said the state will also streamline its licensing rules so doctors and nurses licensed out of state can practice in New York.
Hochul promised much the same for teachers, saying the state will ramp up teacher recruitment efforts and shorten the certification process. New York will need about 180,000 teachers over the next 10 years to meet demand.
Hochul proposed two-term limits on elected officials in New York, and said she would replace the JCOPE ethics panel with a new ethics enforcement system that would report to the people, not politicians.