ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul is doubling down on her proposals to amend the state’s bail laws, even in the face of unified opposition to such changes from Democratic leadership in the Legislature.
At a press conference Wednesday, Hochul cited newly released crime data for 2022, showing that while the rate of shootings and murders in New York has dropped to roughly pre-pandemic levels, other violent crimes known as “index crimes” have become more common.
“As I’ve said in my last year and a half as your governor, protecting New Yorkers is my No. 1 priority, full stop,” Hochul said.
In the face of ongoing public concern about crime, Hochul proposed in her 2024 budget to remove the requirement that courts use the “least restrictive” method of ensuring the accused returns to court. Following changes made last year, that would give judges even more leeway to decide if criminal defendants before them should go to jail ahead of their court appearances.
She contends that making small changes to the state’s bail laws, while additionally doubling the number of training classes at the state police academy and adding another $110 million to public safety programs like the Gun Involved Violence Elimination program and the State Police Community Stabilization Units, would help to ensure crime rates continue to drop in the future and help reduce the recent uptick in index crimes.
But the bail law changes are not popular with the governor’s colleagues in the Senate and Assembly. Neither chamber included any changes to bail laws in their budget proposals released last week, and both chambers’ leaders pointedly said they aren’t convinced the change the governor has proposed would make a difference.
Along with progressives in the Legislature, Democratic leaders have repeatedly said they don’t think the increase in crime rates seen after the COVID-19 pandemic was sparked by the first version of the bail reform law that took effect in 2020.
They’ve argued that violent criminals have always been bail-eligible under the law, and that pre-trial detention is only one very small aspect of the larger criminal justice system.
“I am always willing to sit down and always will be willing to sit down, as is Speaker (of the Assembly Carl E.) Heastie to figure out if there is something that would make it clearer, but quite honestly we have always looked at data, we always want to look at data, and I really want to be able to match whatever we’re doing to a data point that actually suggests that it would improve the circumstances,” Senate Majority Leader Andrea A. Stewart-Cousins, D-Yonkers, said during a press conference last week.
The disagreement over bail reform legislation could lead to a delay in the passage of a final state budget for 2024. The budget is due April 1, to allow the state to operate in a new fiscal year. But last year, lawmakers took nine extra days to agree on a spending plan for fiscal year 2023, partially because of disagreements over changes to bail laws.
Hochul said Wednesday she wouldn’t rule out delaying this year’s budget over the same issues.
“If history is an indicator, I think people know that I feel very strong about certain issues, particularly protecting New Yorkers, that’s what I’m supposed to do,” she said. “That’s the only reason our budget was nine days late last year, because of the bail terms we were able to work with the legislature to gain. Now, that being said, everyone would like an on-time budget.”