FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 10, 2023
The following statement is from Assemblyman Michael Reilly (R,C-Staten Island) following Governor Kathy Hochul’s 2023 State of the State Address:
“While I don’t necessarily agree with everything proposed by the Governor in her State of the State Address, it is refreshing to hear her finally acknowledge the existence of two crises that so many New Yorkers, myself included, have been sounding the alarm over for the past several years: public safety and affordability.
That said, let me remind everyone that the proposals outlined today are just that, proposals, and, unfortunately, this is a show that we’ve all seen before. Every January, the Governor offers a list of lofty policy goals, then, by the time budget negotiations are completed in March, much of this agenda is either watered down or nowhere to be found in the final product.
With regard to addressing the crime crisis, what’s clear, at this point, is that Assembly Speaker Heastie and Senate Leader Stewart-Cousins must get serious about making changes. They cannot continue to ‘wait and see’ what the data says because we already know what it says, and the legislative priorities for us this year are abundantly clear. The state legislature must make additional changes to the bail law, including allowing for the consideration of an offender’s dangerousness in more circumstances, and we must reform the state’s ‘Raise the Age’ law so that violent 16- and 17-year-old offenders can be charged commensurately for the crime they’ve committed.
The Governor said that this is an agenda that would bring both sides together, and while I am prepared to see this important work through, I recognize that it is going to take my colleagues across the aisle to get it done — so let’s get to work!”