ARTICLE
Governor Kathy Hochul laid out her 2022 vision for New York State through her first State of the State address earlier this week. The Governor's agenda theme is “New Era for New York” and she presented her nine priorities for the year: • Rebuild Our Healthcare Economy to Provide Care for More New Yorkers • Protect Public Safety & Taking Action Against Gun Violence • Invest in New York's People • Invest in New York's Communities • Make Housing More Affordable, Equitable & Stable • Make New York a National Leader in Climate Action and Green Jobs • Rebuild the Teacher Workforce & Reimagine Higher Education • Advance New York's Place as a National Equity Model • Make Critical Reforms to Restore Faith in Government Her plan includes more than 225 initiatives to achieve success in those priority areas. Read more about her detailed plan by clicking here to read the 2022 State of the State book or click here for the official press release. ECA’s legislative consultants at Park Strategies pulled the following bullet points that are relevant to our industry. Specific Construction Projects: • Complete the Albany Skyway • Replace the Livingston Avenue Railroad Bridge in Albany • Renew and Modernize Our State’s Roads and Bridges • Rebuild the Wadsworth Center in Albany into a World-Class Campus Labor Provisions: • Protect and Strengthen Workers’ Rights • Ban Agreements That Limit Workers’ Ability to Move and Work Freely • Increase Criminal Penalties for Employers Who Commit Wage Theft • Modernize How Workers File Labor Law Claims to Be More Accessible to Today’s Workforce MWBE Provisions: • Invest in Faster MWBE Certifications and Address the Backlog in Pending Certifications • Establish a Faster, Dedicated MWBE Appeals Unit to Address the Backlog in Appeals • Promote Equal Access to Reduced-Rate Loans for MWBE Businesses Workforce Provisions: • Overhaul the State’s Workforce Development Efforts to Focus on Region-Specific Employment Needs • Enable Voluntary, Private-Sector, In-Prison Employment Opportunities that Pay a Good Wage • Expand Vocational, Job Readiness, and Re-Entry Programs Economic Development Provisions: • Revitalize and Spur Economic Growth Across Downtowns • Revitalize and Spur Economic Growth Across Small Rural Communities • Make Strategic Shovel-Ready Investments for High-Growth Tech Sites Energy/Environment Provisions: • Create High-Quality Solar Jobs for More New Yorkers • Decarbonize New York’s Buildings • Achieve 2 Million Electrified or Electrification-Ready Homes by 2030 • Commit to Zero On-Site Greenhouse Gas Emissions for New Construction No Later Than 2027 and Enact Nation-Leading Building Codes • Bring Green Energy Solutions to Over 1,000 Public Schools Click here to read more from Park Strategies.