Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: New Year, New Laws: Governor Hochul Announces New Policies Taking Effect in 2025 to Put Money Back into the Pockets of New Yorkers

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul announced three new policies that will put money back in the pockets of millions of New Yorkers. Because of new laws championed by Governor Hochul, this week marks the first implementation of an increased minimum wage, the nation's first paid prenatal leave law, and a ban on insulin co-pays for state-regulated insurance plans. Governor Hochul has prioritized tackling the affordability crisis in New York, including by proposing the first-ever inflation refund, and will continue focusing on affordability in this year's State of the State. An expectant mom who earns minimum wage and has diabetes would have an additional $2,700 in their pocket as a result of these reforms.

VIDEO: The event is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

AUDIO: The Governor's remarks are available in audio form here.

PHOTOS: The Governor's Flickr page will post photos of the event here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

It's a new year in New York, and this year means new money in your pockets. Today we stand together to continue the fight for your families that I started when I first became Governor three years ago. Our fight for your families, but also to make New York more affordable for all of our hard working families.

And I'm proud to stand with our elected leaders, labor leaders, health care leaders, community leaders, to speak with one voice. That says when we stand up, we fight, and we win.

And I want to acknowledge some of the extraordinary people that I've had the pleasure to serve with. A governor doesn't do this alone. I have partners in our state legislature who I have such respect for, who have been champions at my side, together we march forward in defining new ways to lift up New Yorkers.

And I want to acknowledge Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the Leader of the New York State Senate. Thank you for all you do. Thank you. And the Speaker of the New York State Assembly, Carl Heastie, another great ally and partner.

But also, we have so many ways we partner with our friends in labor, as they bring ideas to us and how we can make sure as the proud, Labor State of New York that we deliver for our workers every day. And that person leading that effort is our leader, Mario Cilento, the president of the AFL-CIO, Mario. You'll be hearing from Rosy Henriquez of the Northern Manhattan Prenatal Partnership. Dr. Peña from SOMOS Community Care. And we also want to acknowledge James Davis, the president of PSC CUNY here.

But also, I could probably do a cabinet meeting. My entire cabinet seems to be here. I want to have them please stand up. Stand up. Thank you. These are the ones who bring forth ideas, who help us get them over the finish line and to implement them, and I'm so grateful for their service.

Also members of the state legislature, all of you have been acknowledged, you're going to be acknowledged again by your leaders, but I look forward to this next session with a heart full of openness and a way we can work together to deliver for the people who put us in our jobs. And so, I want to recognize all of our leaders in the legislature as well as their members of the Assembly and the Senate here today. Members of Labor 32BJ, NSYNA, PSC CUNY, and 1199. And all of us again, the AFL-CIO for all you do.

Now listen, I know what's going on out there. I actually grocery shop. Yes, my husband and I have an apartment not far from here. We walk down this area often. We fill up our grocery cart and our jaws drop, and we're the ones who can afford it. When I see the cost of everything from my almond milk that goes in my smoothie to the bananas, the berries, the toothpaste we need, paper towels – I look at that and say, “How do people make ends meet? It is just so damn expensive.” And then I go shopping in Albany. I'm back home in Buffalo. I shop there. I go to the malls. Yeah, we get to buy our stuff too. Nobody buys this. I'm one of the lucky ones. I know that. But there are too many people in this state who do not have what I have. I know that. And I am their voice. I want them to know that I've seen the same prices in the grocery store. I watch my son and daughter-in-law look at the price of formula and diapers and how high they are. I know what it's like.

Middle class families who have been working hard their whole lives are just feeling the squeeze, and it's no fault of their own. They didn't ask for inflation to drive up everything. They didn't see this coming. It came out of the blue, what happened here?

I'm old enough to remember when inflation was high back in the 70s, right? None of you remember that. It was bad. I watched my mom – eight mouths she had to figure out how to feed. I got so sick of tuna fish casserole. I mean – it doesn't even – sorry, mom. She tried. She tried. You know, spam out of a can. You slice it up, you fry it, and you call it dinner. I know what that's like. I thought that was what everybody ate. Most people in my neighborhood did. But I watched her stretch to make every penny matter to try and give us our clothes at the used clothing stores or to put it on layaway.

You know what that's like? It's embarrassing when you have to walk up to, not the checkout, but you go over to that other booth, and someone watches you pull your kid's clothes out of a cart, and you hope to see them in another month or two, and you might have enough money to pick them up. That was my family, and it hurts, and it's embarrassing when you're a kid. I don't want anybody else to have to do that.

As a new mom starting out, I couldn't find child care. I had to leave a job I loved. My husband left a job and went to work as a public servant. We didn't have a lot of money. We were a new couple and had a lot of love, and we figured out we'll make it. We did make it. But I do remember dreading going out to those big discount stores and filling up the cart with the diapers and the toilet paper and everything else, like, “Oh my God. That's a couple hundred dollars. Where am I going to get that from?”

I also hear your stories too. You may not know this about me, but I talk to everybody. On the subways – if you've been on the subways with me, you probably have a selfie with me and we had a nice conversation. We did that in grocery stores, we did it at the Queens Center just a couple weeks ago too with holiday shoppers. I hear your stories too and I internalize those stories. Those stories become my stories as well.

And I see you all working harder than ever before and feeling like you're falling farther and farther behind. You know, parents like skimping on their own meals so their kids can eat. An expectant mom trying to decide whether she can take time off work because that means she will not get paid for those hours, to go to that essential prenatal visit so she and her baby have healthier outcomes – that's a real calculation. I talk to moms and they tell me they've skipped those appointments because they can't afford to leave work. That is heartbreaking. And we're trying to find ways to get at the unconsciously high maternal and infant mortality rates. It starts when the baby is in the womb and you have to give them care then. And you can't be missing those appointments. But for a lot of moms, they don't have a choice.

And then we have people with diabetes. It's a vicious disease. My father-in-law succumbed to it, and I watched him. Proud man, veteran, cabinetmaker – proud to raise his family but he was taken down by this disease. And senior citizens who have to decide whether they can afford the insulin payments and the co-pays and the groceries, and the rent. Come on, this is New York. We can do better than that. We can do better and we're doing better. And when I became Governor I said, “I'm going to find ways to put more money back in your pockets,” and today that's exactly what we're doing.

As of January 1st, if you're earning minimum wage, you just got a raise. That's right, $16.50 an hour in New York City, Long Island and Westchester, and $15.50 across the State. And for someone working 40 hours a week, that's an extra $1,000 per year. And guess what? Oh, that's great, but this time next year — another $1,000. And then we're going to do it until we can give you an adjustment for inflation. Now that's never been done before. Never been done. We will figure out how you can finally start getting ahead, because we've seen over the last few years how brutal inflation has been. It just adds to the stress of everyday life. And if you're working full time, you should have a real living wage and not see your wages gobbled up by inflation and increasing costs.

So, here's the deal: Inflation goes up, your wages will go up. Think about that. You don't have to go back to the collective bargaining table, you don't have to go back to your employer. Your wages will go up automatically when inflation goes up. Right, Commissioner Reardon? Alright, my Commissioner of Labor is here. She supports this.

Now, I have a little bit of some areas I'm more of an authority in than others. I'm a former expectant mom. I did it twice, okay? Most people in my position have not been able to talk about that experience in the past. If you're not getting that care, you're not giving your baby the best shot in life. And that's why we are now the first state in the United States of America to have guaranteed paid leave for prenatal visits.

Starting this week, tens of thousands of New Yorkers, from home health care aides to hourly restaurant workers and countless others who do not have a salary they can count on, will no longer have to make the impossible choice between losing money in their paycheck and getting prenatal care for their babies. Now, if you're making, I don't know, even a nice wage like $28 an hour, right? You can now take 20 hours a week off – not, I'm sorry, not a week. During the pregnancy – can't get too greedy. Calm down employers, you're going to be okay – 20 hours during the pregnancy. Which is about right and you're not going to lose the money you would have lost. That's another $560 back in your pocket. That's another $560 because that's a choice you should not have to make – between taking care of yourselves and your baby, and taking care of your family.

And again, speaking about health care. If you need insulin to survive, all of us have a family member, I guarantee it, who understands what this is all about. You shouldn't have to break the bank to get your care. And that's why, for the first time ever, we've eliminated insulin co-pays for New Yorkers who are on state regulated health plans. Now, for you, that's about $1,200 more in your pockets every year and more medicine in your medicine cabinet as well. That's what we're talking about. More money back in your pockets.

Now I did a little calculation. If you're an expectant mom, who earns minimum wage and happens to be diabetic, that's $2,700 more in your pocket. That's how it adds up. That's how it starts making a difference.

So, when times are tough, we listen. We hear you loud and clear. Your elected leaders, the representatives in this room, and the city council members as well who have joined us, I want to acknowledge them as well. You tell us you need help, we hear you need help. We're going to continue delivering real solutions that make a difference. And we're just getting started. So stay tuned.

While all of you are having a nice holiday season, I was wrapping up 800 bills. Thank you, Legislators. Glad you had a good time. Working on my Budget, thank you to my entire budget team who've been working nonstop. And also working on my State of the State address, coming up with impactful policy ideas that I want to work with the legislature to get over the finish line, because every one of them. And that is you. That is you and your families. And so when I deliver my State of the State address in a couple of weeks, I've already given you a sneak preview. It's like watching the trailers to the movies, right?

You know about the $500, right? You've all heard about this one, our novel plan to put $500 back in the pockets of families of people earning over $300,000 or less. We're hitting a lot of people with that one. Because our view is that money never should have been taken out of your pockets. That's because you paid more for everything you bought for the last three years because of inflation. And the State of New York, when I saw the numbers that we collected $3 billion more than we anticipated because of inflation, money coming out of your pockets, we said, you know what? Let's put it back in the pockets it came out of. And that's for individuals, $300, $500 for families. That's what I'm talking about.

My friends, I will never stop fighting for the hard working men and women of this state. It's in my blood. It's in my DNA. I love a good fight. Let's try not to have too many this year, but because I know this, when individual New Yorkers get ahead, we all get ahead. And that's how we succeed as a State.

And I could not be prouder to be your Governor. Thank you so much for joining us here today. Thank you for your support for these and everything else we're going to be doing over the next year. Thank you. With that, let me introduce our Speaker of the New York State Assembly, Speaker Carl Heastie, who's joined us here today. And he'll also acknowledge our members who've joined us. Carl Heastie.