By Tori Sullivan
To kick off 2026, Governor Kathy Hochul took the stage in Albany for her State of the State address to share plans for the year ahead. 2026 is a big one. Not only is the U.S. celebrating its 250th birthday, with New York set to play a major part, but Hochul is also heading into a re-election year.
As outlined in the speech, the Governor is guided by key priorities that have the potential to move the needle for residents and businesses: universal child care, innovation, and public safety.
Here’s a rundown of what initiatives are on the table for each bucket.
Universal Child Care
Governor Kathy Hochul has made universal child care a defining focus of her administration, framing it as both an affordability strategy and imperative for working families across New York. The Fiscal Year 2026 Executive Budget reflects the Governor’s commitment to access, with new resources to support families and bolster child care providers.
The plan commits roughly $4.5 billion to build a statewide system of universal care for children under five, including expanding universal pre-K for four-year-olds, partnering with New York City to add free “2-Care” (child care for two-year-olds) and fully realize “3K” (early education programs for three-year-olds). This funding complements the pilot programs established in select counties to increase access for infants and toddlers.
These investments are also paired with a major boost to the state’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), aimed at helping low-income families and supporting parents to stay in or return to the workforce. Child care has proven to be an area where Hochul aligns with New York City’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, which ultimately helps Hochul connect to the progressive wing within her party.
Innovation
Building on her previously announced Empire AI initiative, a first-in-the-nation consortium of public and private research institutions advancing AI for the public good at scale, Hochul is seeking to launch the next phase, Empire AI Beta. The new Beta system dramatically expands Empire AI’s existing performance to 11 times its former scale, making it the world’s most advanced academic supercomputer. Empire AI is backed by over $500 million in public and private funding, including up to $340 million in state capital funding secured by Governor Hochul.
She is also planning to introduce legislation to expand the testing of autonomous vehicles beyond the boundaries of New York City. This reflects Hochul’s focus on improving road safety and transportation options by pairing innovation with strong oversight and planning by State agencies, including the Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Transportation, and New York State Police.
Public Safety, Criminal Justice, and Immigration
Throughout her tenure as Governor, Hochul has maintained focus on public safety, especially in New York City’s subways. She has announced plans to add subway platform barriers to 85 more stations, joining the 115 stations where these barriers are currently in place. Hochul also plans to invest an additional $77 million to NYPD subway patrols and expand the personal outreach to New Yorkers experiencing homelessness in the system.
In terms of firearms, Hochul is pushing a law meant to block the 3D printers sold in New York from producing firearm components and criminalize the possession of blueprints for such guns. She also wants to make it harder for New Yorkers to convert handguns into fully automatic weapons, proposing that all pistols sold in the state be designed in a way that prevents these modifications.
During her State of the State, Hochul also announced that she would designate houses of worship, schools and hospitals as “sensitive locations” where United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement cannot enter with a judicial warrant. She also endorsed legislation that would allow New York residents to sue Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in state court for civil rights violations.
The Road Ahead
Beyond New York’s gubernatorial election and the midterm races, the biggest challenge facing Governor Hochul’s proposed $260 billion FY 2026–27 Executive Budget lies in managing the costs tied to each of her key priorities, especially as states are forced to react based on federal funding reductions, and as Hochul manages pressure from both sides of aisle. This year will be very telling as Hochul navigates new peers in leadership, such as Mayor Mamdani, while also pushing her priorities forward.