Gov. Kathy Hochul Announces Major Payments To New York Families To Combat Inflation
Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) unveiled new supplemental payments for families under the Empire State Child Credit program.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Good morning, everyone.
00:08Thank you for joining us on this beautiful, beautiful summer day in our state's capital.
00:13You know, as governor, I travel all around the state.
00:17I talk to plenty of New Yorkers, especially parents, and I get into those kind of conversations.
00:23You know, having been there, you know, what's on your mind?
00:26How are the kids?
00:27How you feeling?
00:28How they doing?
00:29What keeps you up at night?
00:31And when I'm talking to parents who are raising young children, the answer is always the same.
00:37The cost of living is just too damn high.
00:41So this is something that I can relate to.
00:45Having been a mom, I'm still a mom.
00:49My kids still consider me their mom, which is great.
00:53Despite growing up with a political mother since they were preschoolers, they've stuck
00:56with me.
00:57I appreciate that.
00:59And I'm a grandma, and I understand profoundly how hard it is for families just trying to
01:04make it all work out.
01:06It's so hard.
01:07And every night, the parents sit at the dinner table and talk about the math, and I remember
01:12seeing the stack of bills keep getting higher, and how we're going to pay the property tax
01:16bill or our rent, and just the basic needs, right?
01:20And then, of course, you think you're doing fine, and it's like, oh, yeah, school's around
01:25the corner.
01:26They don't fit into anything from last year.
01:29They need all new sneakers.
01:30They need new backpacks.
01:31They need to do everything.
01:32And so it's just so hard, and you know what?
01:36You can't hear those stories and not feel compelled to act.
01:42And I want to acknowledge two individuals who've been at the forefront of trying to
01:47solve this affordability crisis here in our state of New York.
01:52We have with us the Majority Leader of the New York State Senate, Andrea Stewart-Cousins.
01:56I want to acknowledge her and her strong support for what we're talking about here
02:00today.
02:01Let's give her another round of applause.
02:02And the Speaker of the New York State Assembly, Cara Heastie, who has been a great partner
02:09of mine as well.
02:10Let's give him a round of applause.
02:11You know, as I mentioned at the outset, New Yorkers are facing really serious financial
02:20pressures, and all I can do is look at the cost of the bills, right?
02:25The cost of groceries have gone up 23 percent in the last five years.
02:31Who doesn't have to buy groceries, right?
02:33Every family needs to buy groceries every single week.
02:36Housing prices, if you're trying to buy a house, have gone up 17 percent at the same
02:41time.
02:42Child care.
02:43Child care has gone up 20 percent, and I think it's not a newsflash that wages have not kept
02:51up with that, right?
02:53So the strain on working families is too much, and we're losing some families who are going
02:57elsewhere where they don't have the same challenges, and that actually threatens New York State's
03:03long-term viability.
03:05And that's why, since becoming governor, making New York State more affordable has been one
03:10of my top priorities.
03:11And as I said, I have great partners who have the same feeling of who we're fighting for
03:17and what we must do.
03:18We fought to raise the minimum wage, and for the first time in history, tie it to inflation.
03:24Now, that was back when inflation wasn't even a big factor.
03:27Leaders, aren't we glad we did that for New Yorkers?
03:30We tied the cost of minimum wage to inflation.
03:35We doubled tuition assistance together.
03:38We held the line on income taxes.
03:40We negotiated a historic deal to build more affordable housing because nothing was being
03:46built driving up the prices everywhere.
03:49We also are protecting our renters.
03:52And we talk about child care.
03:55Together we secured a $7 billion investment to overhaul our state's child care system
04:00and making child care more affordable.
04:03And just a couple weeks ago, we announced a new digital portal to make free and low-cost
04:09child care available for eligible families online.
04:13So get this, and I hope you all heard this last week.
04:16For a family earning up to $108,000, a family of four earning up to $108,000, their child
04:24care expenses will not cost more than $15 a week.
04:29The average cost is $350.
04:33That's real money back in New Yorkers' pockets, and I'm really proud of that as well.
04:39As I said, it doesn't happen without the partnership of the state legislature, but we know our work
04:46is far from over.
04:47So we have to figure out ways constantly, we're constantly seeking ways to ease the
04:51burden on New Yorkers.
04:52And there's a lot of talk about, it used to be the three men in the room, remember, during
04:57budget negotiations, now you have the two women and the man.
05:01And we're all parents, we're all parents, and we talk about intensely how we can put
05:07more money back in the pockets of New Yorkers.
05:10And today we're going to announce one of the many ways we've done just that.
05:14And so I'm announcing, we're delivering $350 million in direct financial assistance to
05:19low and moderate income families statewide through the Child Tax Credit Program.
05:26$350 million, meaning one million New York families with children will be receiving a
05:31check in the mail by the end of August.
05:38Now depending on your income and the size of the family, that will determine the amount.
05:44Some families will receive up to $330 per child.
05:48You have three children, that's $1,000 in your family.
05:52Doubling the amount of assistance that they've received in the past.
05:56And can you imagine the timing of that?
05:59Right while you're out there doing that last minute school shopping.
06:03That's why we wanted to do this for New Yorkers.
06:06And the best part is New Yorkers don't have to do anything to receive this payment.
06:11No forms, no phone calls, no hoops to jump through.
06:15It's just going to come to them.
06:17So as I mentioned, back to school in September.
06:20Those costs add up a lot.
06:21What do I know about this?
06:22I checked.
06:23A backpack today costs around $30, $40.
06:26Some kids want the fancy ones.
06:28Some of the lower end sneakers cost about $45.
06:31They go way up from there.
06:33Some kids need uniforms, a lunchbox, notebooks and pens.
06:37I'm having PTSD from buying all this.
06:40I go in that shopping cart and just pile it all in, pile it all in.
06:44And it just seemed unending.
06:46And with this check, this is how parents will be able to cover the cost of back to school supplies
06:53and even some clothes in there.
06:54And that's why I'm so proud of this.
06:56And no other governor and no other state legislature in the history of this great state
07:01has distributed this much direct financial assistance to the degree we have to families in New York.
07:07In the last two years alone, we've provided over $2.6 billion in financial relief for families
07:15and help homeowners with their bills.
07:17What we've done, we help homeowners with their property tax bills.
07:25We had additional assistance from the earned income tax credit recipients.
07:29And we even saved gas, the cost of buying gas at the pump for New Yorkers during the pandemic.
07:35So this all comes back to our collective commitment to support New York's working families.
07:40And this child tax credit program is a vital program offering support to families with kids.
07:46And I know this is going to make a real difference.
07:49This is part of the cornerstone of our collective efforts to help families navigate the cost of living in New York.
07:56We're going to continue finding ways to drive the cost down.
07:59And I will also say this, but I realized when I became governor,
08:03this tax credit was only available for families with kids age four and up.
08:11Any parents in this room?
08:14I thought so.
08:17They're kind of expensive as newborns, aren't they?
08:20Right?
08:22They outgrow everything in three months.
08:24I mean, the clothes say zero to three months, three to six, six to nine, because your babies are growing.
08:30And then they want to buy little sneakers and they don't stay in those very long.
08:34And then you're all of a sudden, you know, the cost of formula.
08:37My gosh, formulas and diapers.
08:39I told my husband as soon as our kids are out of formula and diapers, we're going to be rich again.
08:44It was that much of a strain on us.
08:46I'd run out to BJ's out, you know, just fill up the shopping cart with everything I could buy as cheaply as I could.
08:53So we said no, no.
08:56We're going to make that tax credit available from birth on upward and not just the age of four.
09:01So that's a huge change.
09:05So we did that last year.
09:07So that means over 600,000 more children are covered with this from infants all the way on up to high school,
09:13and that's one more way we're just making life a little bit easier.
09:16But I know I threw a lot of numbers at you, but I wanted you to hear from a real person in a couple minutes.
09:22We're all real people.
09:24A person who's living through this right now.
09:27A young woman, Lisa Chin, a mom from Westchester, Mount Vernon,
09:32who's going to tell her story in a few moments about what it's like with a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter
09:38and a two-month-old son.
09:40I think she came up here just to get a little break in the action.
09:42So, Lisa, you can stay as long as you want here.
09:46And this year, since we expanded the eligibility, her family received the tax credit for the very first time.
09:52And she's balancing life as a full-time mom, pursuing her own dreams,
09:56and she's finishing up her bachelor's degree at FIT,
09:59and she's one of the recipients of our tuition assistance program.
10:04So with the state's support, she's just an example of the people that we care about,
10:09why we do what we do, and how we're helping not just her future but her children's future as well.
10:14So it's not just making life livable in New York.
10:18It's also making it affordable for every single family.
10:21And we won't stop fighting.
10:22There's always ways that we can work together to alleviate that burden.
10:26And it would not have been possible, as I mentioned, without incredible partners in our state legislature.
10:32And I want to bring up someone who's been a real champion for families all over our state,
10:36and that is my friend, Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins.
10:50Thank you. Thank you so much, Governor Hochul.
10:53Talking about PTSD, I think I was experiencing it when you were describing all that we as parents go through.
11:05And it is wonderful to have partners who understand what people have to do
11:14in order to make sure the quality of life for their kids is actually what the promise of America is.
11:25So it is really wonderful to have Governor Hochul and Speaker Hastie sitting at this table
11:33with all of our conferences.
11:35Nobody disagrees that we have to emphasize affordability.
11:41Nobody disagrees that the cost of raising a family can be very, very difficult.
11:49And nobody disagrees that we as government have to find a way to alleviate that burden.
11:55When I was first starting out, a new parent, I was a young parent,
12:01I know my first advocacy was down at City Hall in New York City,
12:06begging them not to kick my child out of daycare.
12:11Because I made $7,000 a year, they told me that I made far too much to have subsidy.
12:21And unless I paid $100 a week, my child could not go.
12:27Fortunately, my mother was able to fill that void.
12:34But that many years ago in the 70s, we've been fighting for childcare,
12:41for affordable childcare, for experiences for our children in childcare
12:48that will prepare them for going to school and really doing well.
12:56What we do every day is govern.
13:00What we do every day is govern with the idea of how people need to live their lives
13:08and afford their lives in a place like New York where if we do it right,
13:14we set the standards and we present a goal for the rest of the nation.
13:21And while we're having this national conversation about children, childcare, and governing,
13:28I look at New York and I'm proud to sit in the table with the governor,
13:38with the speaker, representing our conferences with the ideal of presenting a better way for our kids.
13:48This has been an incredible milestone.
13:52And again, we are all very, very happy that $350 million will go to people.
13:58You don't have to do anything. You just sit there and the check will come to you.
14:02And yes, until last year, we weren't even talking about anyone under four.
14:08But as the grandparent of six grandkids, three of them, well, one just turned six,
14:18but the other two or three, I know that my daughter and her husband will be thrilled
14:25when the check is in the mail because everything the governor said about
14:30how to prepare for the next school season is a reality in my family and so many others.
14:37So again, thank you. And it is my pleasure to introduce my buddy.
14:42He's been my wonder twin. We have all kinds of names for each other.
14:48All very, very affectionate. Speaker of the Assembly, Carl Hastie.
14:51Well, first, let me apologize for not being as well dressed as the governor and the majority leader.
15:03This is my touring outfit. So I'm headed to Utica in Rome to look at some of the devastation that happened out in Rome.
15:12So this is my touring outfit. This is a great day.
15:17By no means have we solved all of the affordability problems.
15:22But since the time I became speaker, we always said we wanted to have a family's first agenda.
15:30And this is one of the examples of what we're trying to do, particularly during these tough times of inflation.
15:36Just give people a little more. Just try to be a little more helpful to people.
15:41And since the governor and the majority leader gave their parental stories,
15:45I guess I'll give my beautiful daughter Taylor, who's 15 now and she's going to be touring with me.
15:52She's half happy about going. But I remember when she was young, Taylor had to have the super extra sensitive formula.
16:01And I remember those cans, they were about this big and they were about 40 bucks for the can.
16:06But I was a member of the Assembly then, so it was a little easier for me.
16:10I could just imagine how another family that had to deal with buying the extra sensitive formula,
16:16how much that would have squeezed their budgets.
16:20I think for us, whether it's this, whether it's TAP, it's just the governor, majority leader,
16:25and all of our members of the legislature just trying to say to the people of the state of New York,
16:30we hear you and we're trying to do something to make your lives a little better, a little easier during these difficult times.
16:39And this is, you know, this is real, you know, real money to try to help.
16:44And as the governor says, the timing of this right before school starts will be a little helpful.
16:49Just like I said, just an acknowledgment to the people of the state of New York that we hear you and we're going to continue to try to do better.
16:57So thank you, everyone. Am I introducing? OK.
17:04I didn't pay attention to the script, but let me let me introduce Lisa Chen, who's a neighbor, even though I represent the Bronx.
17:13But my house is about two blocks from Mount Vernon.
17:17I'm on the very northern part to tell the story of what it's like to be a parent in dealing with today's issues.
17:24So Lisa, welcome. Thank you.
17:40Good morning, everyone. My name is Lisa Chen and I'm a mother of two young children living in Mount Vernon with my partner.
17:47I have a two year old daughter named Tiana and a two month old named Benjamin.
17:53The cost of living can definitely be tough, especially when you're raising young children.
17:59I often face unexpected challenges when I'm trying to make sure that I'm giving my kids the care and support they need.
18:07While I also complete a bachelor's degree in Midtown Manhattan at FIT.
18:14So for many moms like myself, any little additional support makes a difference.
18:20That's why I'm grateful for the use of the Empire State Child Credit.
18:24It does put a little more money back in my pockets.
18:28I would like to thank Governor Hochul and the state legislature for the credit that was expanded this last year to cover children under four.
18:38And that made me eligible.
18:42It was really helpful to get the credit when I filed my tax return, and I'm excited to also receive the supplemental payment coming soon.
18:50And in addition to that, I do get support through the state tuition assistance program to pay for school.
19:00And I'm also grateful for additional support I received from a nonprofit called the Bridge Project that provided me with additional financial assistance after having my first child.
19:12I've also used resources from the state to apply for SSI benefits because my two and a half year old daughter, she has a genetic disorder as well.
19:22So like I said, any additional support does count, it makes a difference, and it's making a difference for me.
19:32It's helped me stay focused on caring for my kids while also taking care of myself and pursuing my career goals.
19:39I didn't have to make any tough choices trying to choose between the two.
19:43So I want to say thank you to Governor Hochul for everything you're doing to support parents and families here in New York like me.
19:51And thank you to Majority Leader Ms. Stewart-Cousins and Speaker Heastie and the state legislature for all the work that you've put into this.
20:01Thank you, and all of the work you're doing is helping me to create a brighter future for my kids.
20:07Thank you, everyone.
20:13Thank you all for coming and listening today.
20:20Good morning, everyone.
20:23Hearing none, thank you very much.
20:25Go forth and enjoy this summer day.
20:27See you at the baseball game on August 28th.
20:29I'm already practicing.
20:31Are you?
20:34Are you practicing?
20:36I don't know that I'm playing, but I'm already practicing.
20:39Priorities, priorities, okay.
20:42Just in terms of the checks, you said they're going to be out by the end of August.
20:46I mean, this is just going to be a check for a percentage of the Empire State child credit, and it's just going to show up in people's mailboxes.
20:54They don't have to do anything else.
20:55Correct?
20:56That's right.
20:57Okay.
20:58But if you don't have children, you don't get them.
21:01These are for people with children.
21:02Yeah, I understand.
21:03So they don't have to do anything.
21:05They don't have to file a form.
21:07Nothing.
21:08We already know people's income.
21:10We know who's eligible based on their taxes that have been previously filed.
21:14This tax, the Empire child tax credit has been in place before.
21:20We just added a significantly higher amount to it.
21:23So we already know from records what people's income is.
21:26So we know their eligibility.
21:28We're just trying to make it easier on them instead of them having to, you know, file papers or just, you know, go online.
21:34This is what I said.
21:35Let's just make it easier on people.
21:36So.
21:37So these are people who got the credit in 2023?
21:40Yes.
21:41These are people we've known are eligible.
21:43And if there's newly eligible, let me ask that question of Amanda Hill, our commissioner for tax,
21:48to find out if someone is newly eligible this year, how we know that.
21:52That's a good question.
21:53We'll find that out for you.
21:59Would you support a lawsuit to get the Board of Elections to change the language on the ERA, on the ballot language?
22:06I'm not supposed to talk about litigation, so I will not say whether I would support or not support litigation.
22:14Now that I've said that, I support having clearer language so people understand what's at stake this November on the ballot in the state of New York,
22:23that this is basically the long overdue Equal Rights Amendment to enshrine women's right into the Constitution,
22:30something been talked about for beyond my life.
22:35Also, it enshrines into our Constitution the right to have an abortion,
22:40something that years ago people would have said, how unnecessary is that?
22:44Why would we even bother?
22:46That is a protected right in the United States of America.
22:49But everything changed when Donald Trump became president and is no longer a protected right for everyone in America.
22:55And we can tell even in the state of New York.
22:58This depends on who the governor is.
23:01We actually had a situation where you could have ended up with a candidate who was hostile to women's rights just a couple years ago.
23:08So for those important reasons, as well as enshrining LGBTQ protections into law,
23:14I would have preferred there be clear language that people know that abortion and LGBTQ rights and other rights for people with disabilities and others
23:23are on the ballot to be protected in perpetuity if they become part of our Constitution.
23:29And I don't want any misunderstanding as to what that's all about.
23:34Kind of on theme with today, I'm wondering what you make of Senator Vance's comments from a couple of years ago that some Democrats are childless cat ladies
23:44and that has informed a lot of government decision making.
23:49All I can do is shake my head.
23:51I mean, they've been called weird.
23:55They're incredibly weird.
23:57They are just beyond the pale in terms of what is being said.
24:00Denigrating women in particular, this is part of a continuation of the lack of respect that people like J.D. Vance and Donald Trump have for women in our country.
24:12Not caring that they strip away rights that we have long held dear, like the right to make reproductive decisions.
24:18And now to attack individuals because they don't have children, that there's some lesser person in our country,
24:25that they have a lesser status because they don't have children.
24:29This is an individual's choice of whether they want to have a family.
24:33And some would like to make that choice and do not have the option to.
24:37So I think it's just a smack in the face of women across the country.
24:42And he's done nothing to rehabilitate those comments.
24:45He's gone deeper into the hole.
24:47And people ought to be very frightened about having someone like that a heartbeat away from the presidency.
24:54So this is going to be a major factor as more becomes known about him.
24:59It is surreal to think that there's someone in such a high position, that close to power, who holds such weird thoughts.
25:12I mean, that's how they've been described.
25:13They are just beyond the pale.
25:16Governor, it's been reported that your administration fired Linda Sun for misconduct.
25:22What did she do that prompted her termination?
25:25I'm not able to speak about that at this time.
25:27There is an important federal investigation going on.
25:30She did serve in my administration just for a short time in the chamber for about a year and then moved on.
25:37And, you know, we found out about the law enforcement action recently in the media.
25:42So we've not been engaged in that.
25:44But having been married to a federal prosecutor now for 40 years, I know it's most important that we let them conduct their work.
25:51And all will be told at the right time.
25:54On the subject of prison closures, DOCS made announcements on two facilities to close a little over a week ago now,
26:02citing an issue recruiting enough corrections officers for those facilities.
26:08As DOCS has said, if recruitment doesn't pick up, they will consider closing more facilities.
26:13I'm curious if your administration is backing any specific efforts to try and bring more people into corrections officer work.
26:20It is recruitment, but it's also prison population.
26:23The prison population has gone down 50 percent.
26:26So you have individuals, you know, it's very difficult if you're a corrections officer right now
26:33because the recruitment challenges and the attrition, the vacancies that are there, makes your job even harder.
26:40But also there are fewer people incarcerated.
26:43So from a government policy perspective, it makes sense to often right size institutions within our control.
26:50And prisons are part of that.
26:52There was a time there was a there was a building spree of prisons because more people were being incarcerated.
26:58Now fewer people are being incarcerated.
27:00And so it's just right sizing our system.
27:03But we are always recruiting law enforcement.
27:06And I'm looking at issues like what is the minimum wage to be able to be considered?
27:10I mean, I'm aggressively trying to find ways.
27:13Our state police, we are seeing we've been seeing a decline in the number of recruits.
27:17I've spoke at every single one of the police cadet or the police academy graduations very proudly.
27:23We used to do one a year, maybe sometimes two a year.
27:27Once I changed the age requirements and raised it so more people could be eligible, we now have four classes a year.
27:33So something as simple as that I want.
27:35That's why I said with the with respect to corrections officers, I want to look at what the required maximum age is now.
27:41And do we just increase that?
27:43So I'm doing trying to come up with creative ways to encourage more people to go into these professions.
27:48They're critically important for our security and making sure that, you know, when are when we have there, you know,
27:54the need for them is there that we have enough people to support them and not create an additional burden on their co-workers or their co-workers who would be there now.
28:01So it's an important priority of ours.
28:06Governor, a few weeks ago, you told my esteemed colleague from Gothamist that you expected to have a plan to address revenue for the MTA by the end of the year.
28:18The budget office's financial plan that came out, I believe, last week or the week before said there's a possibility that could be kicked to next year's budget talks.
28:28At this time, are you able to clarify whether you expect that by the end of the year, especially knowing that the MTA has to develop a five-year capital plan?
28:37No, the five-year capital plan will be released this fall.
28:40We're in conversations with them about that.
28:42It is very ambitious.
28:44And I want to make sure that we have the resources to finish the current capital plan, the $15 billion.
28:49Again, we just concluded a $34 billion plan.
28:52So the money has been spent.
28:54The money has been spent for over 110 years to support the MTA with different sources of funding.
29:00So I am firm in my commitment that everything that has been envisioned will continue, the $15 billion here, and already talking to the MTA literally daily.
29:11My team is involved with them on what the next five-year capital plan is.
29:15So I can talk about it at the end of the year as promised, but I do need legislative action to implement it.
29:24So that's when we come into January of the next year.
29:28And I've already started just speaking to the leaders about how that's going to look.
29:33So the conversations are ongoing, but they can't act on it until next year anyhow.
29:39Are you committed to doing that before budget, or is this budget next year?
29:45There's not money right now in this budget.
29:47But what I was able to do yesterday, for example, to ensure that the Second Avenue subway continues.
29:53People find the resources to make sure that nothing is stopped.
29:56I've said that all along, and people didn't realize it at the time.
30:01I was serious that nothing's going to be stopped.
30:04So $54 million was allocated from our capital funding to ensure that the utility work and digging of the trenches goes on now so there's no delays.
30:14And so I've been in communication also with the White House regularly about the Second Avenue subway.
30:20They know it's one of my top priorities to make sure that their commitments are firm.
30:26I heard that from the President, I heard it from the Secretary, I've heard it from everybody.
30:29So that was something else I solidified very early on in this process.
30:34So the end of the year means we'll have the plan.
30:37The plan will be implemented in the budget the next year.
30:40Governor, can you be more specific about that $54 million for the Second Avenue subway?
30:46Where is that money coming from?
30:48What pot of funding, what strings are attached?
30:51Unallocated capital funding.
30:57The money is available.
31:00Unallocated capital funding was made available.
31:03That's just money that you have available that you can send to whatever you want?
31:08Are there strings attached?
31:11No, it obviously has to be an infrastructure capital project.
31:14And this is something that I determined in order to keep this moving without delay,
31:19because we don't want the cost of contracts to go up,
31:22that now is the time to release that because we had a situation that came to my attention
31:26that just needed to be taken care of now as opposed to later.
31:29There's some other pending things with the Second Avenue subway.
31:33The tunneling contract, for example, was supposed to move ahead this year, this summer.
31:42Do you have other money that you can keep those things going forward?
31:45Or will there be delays on that front?
31:47What I will say is people know that my commitment to the Second Avenue subway is crystal clear.
31:54We are moving forward with this.
31:56This has been talked about, I think, since 1940, if I'm not mistaken.
32:01So I'm the governor who's actually went down under the ground,
32:06saw what needed to be done,
32:08questioned why no one had ever had the guts to move ahead with this,
32:11and always the answer was it was just too wildly expensive,
32:14and East Harlem didn't have the political clout to be able to make this happen.
32:19I'm listening to the people in those communities who have been waiting way too long for this to happen
32:23to open up opportunities to get access to the better-paying jobs elsewhere.
32:27I want this to happen.
32:29So if there's any other reasons why there are delays, we will work through them.
32:33But again, as I said, this is a temporary pause, right?
32:39And for those who did not believe me when I announced that from here in June,
32:46they're starting to realize, and the MTA now knows and everybody knows,
32:50I am committed to funding these critical capital projects,
32:54and there are various ways to fund them.
32:56As I've said, we've been funding these projects since 1910 in our state.
33:02Somehow we've been able to manage this in the past through state initiatives, right?
33:09But the pause is not going to affect our ability to move forward on critical projects.
33:14And other areas, I will look at them on a case-by-case basis during this pause time
33:19to make sure we don't delay critical projects.
33:25Hi, Governor.
33:26Hi.
33:27I know you've had a few stops on your tour looking at the use of cell phones in schools.
33:32Some districts are using these magnetic pouches instead,
33:35which I think we've seen at concerts and so forth.
33:38Would you consider funding in the budget to help districts purchase these types of pouches?
33:45Let's not get ahead of ourselves yet.
33:47Right now I'm on this listening tour, which has been quite extraordinary.
33:52I started in Albany, went down to Long Island, participated in Binghamton, was over in western New York.
34:01Yonkers is next week, and I'm heading up to Watertown.
34:04I think I'll cover most of the regions of the state addressing this conversation.
34:09And what I've heard is so fascinating.
34:11You've heard me talk about the Schoharie School District, which went cold turkey two years ago
34:17after seeing the success of this in a school district in Massachusetts.
34:21And they would never look back.
34:23They said no Apple watches, no smart watches, no earbuds, no phones at all.
34:31And that's the entire day.
34:33There's no break during recess.
34:35There's no you don't get your phone during lunch.
34:38And watching how they overcame that, and it took courage.
34:42But the parents in that district see their children have been transformed, that they're more engaging,
34:48that they're more likely to make eye contact and communicate in ways that other children are not doing right now
34:53because they're held captive to that cell phone all throughout the day.
34:57And to hear the teachers, you should talk to Assemblymember Bill Conrad, for example.
35:01He was a former teacher.
35:03He said it was getting so frustrating to try and teach a class
35:07when no one was paying attention to you despite your very best efforts.
35:11And I want these kids just to be kids again.
35:16So I'm going to continue the conversation.
35:18I think you know where I am mentally.
35:22But I want to make sure that we're not missing some dynamic that I want to hear from.
35:26But we have the teachers union on board, NYSUT.
35:30They're representatives from the PTA who have been very supportive.
35:33Many school administrators are supportive.
35:35And what they're telling me is that it would make it a lot easier for them if there was a statewide policy.
35:41And I said I'm inclined to leave all these issues to localities
35:45because I believe in local control.
35:47I come out of local government.
35:49But in a case where the situations are fairly standard and uniform across the state
35:55and people are saying can you take this off of us and have a statewide policy,
36:02I'm seriously looking at that.
36:04But it would take an act of the legislature.
36:06Therefore, I have the luxury of time now to have these conversations because nothing can be done.
36:11The issue about the pouches comes into play if there's a mandate.
36:14But a lot of school districts are doing this already.
36:16I think it was, don't quote me on this, but it might have been the Dunkirk school district
36:21that just decided they were going to do this.
36:23I thought the cost was $29,000 or so.
36:27I will note that we've given historically high amounts of money to school districts in the last two years.
36:34You've seen me talk about that graph.
36:36I love pointing to it because it's very high up in the last two years.
36:40Some of these school districts already have the resources.
36:42They're making those investments in those pouches now.
36:46Long answer to your question, but I really care deeply about this.
36:49Something that transcends geographic boundaries.
36:53It transcends political philosophies.
36:56Everyone is seeing the ill effects of this.
36:59It's an outgrowth of our efforts that we started last fall on the whole social media initiative,
37:04which again, people are very excited and appreciative that in government,
37:10we're not afraid to take these strong positions on behalf of families in particular.
37:14As parents, we're just trying to figure out what's happening to their kids,
37:17and they don't recognize them anymore, and that's sad.
37:20If we can do something about it, we certainly are.
37:23Thanks, everybody. Appreciate it.