New York State SmartTranscripts:

[Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, Assembly Majority Leader]: Mister speaker, would you please call the house to order?

[Carl E. Heastie, Speaker of the New York State Assembly]: The house will come to order. Father Pierre Andre Duvair will offer a prayer.

[Rev. Pierre André Duvert, Rector, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church (Bronx)]: Let us pray. Gracious and eternal god, throughout human history, your spirit has anointed your servants to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to those held in bondage, to proclaim the year of your favor, to comfort all who mourn, to replace ashes with garland, and sorrow with oil of gladness. As we gather for the opening session of this legislature of New York, we humbly ask you to send your blessing upon this assembly. Pour out your spirit upon the members of this legislature that they may enact policies that bring good news to the oppressed of our state, that set at liberty those who are captive, that bring release and restoration, especially to those harmed by unjust systems, and that offers comfort and hope to all who suffer and mourn. Grant them wisdom and discernment as they work toward laws and policies that promotes justice, equity, and the common good. Guide them to seek not only what is lawful, but what is right. Not only what is expedient, but what is compassionate. Give them the courage to stand with those who cannot stand for themselves, to speak for those whose voices are unheard, and to envision and work faithfully toward a society where dignity is honored, opportunity is shared, and peace is not merely hoped but lived. All this we ask in your holy name. Amen. Amen.

[Carl E. Heastie, Speaker of the New York State Assembly]: Visitors invited to join members in the pledge of allegiance. A quorum being president present, the clerk will read the journal of Tuesday, January 6. Miss People Stokes.

[Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, Assembly Majority Leader]: Mister speaker, I move to dispense with the further reading of the journal of Tuesday, January 6, and that the same stand approved.

[Carl E. Heastie, Speaker of the New York State Assembly]: Without objection, so ordered. Miss People Stokes.

[Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, Assembly Majority Leader]: Thank you, mister speaker. I would like to start as I normally do in previous sessions with a quote. This one comes from James R. Sherman. James is an American psychologist and an author. His words for us today. You can't go back and make a new start, but you can go start now and make a brand new ending. Again, these words from James Sherman, an American psychologist. Mister speaker, let me take a moment to wish everyone a happy New Year and good to see everybody back in this historic chambers. Our principal work for today is gonna be closing out our twenty twenty five legislative session and convening our 2026 session. As we begin, I would like to briefly recognize our newest member to our chambers from the 115th Assembly District. Please welcome assembly member Michael Cashman. As most of you know, we will follow our normal tradition and on our introduce mister Cashman more fully as a new member of this honorable body this Monday when we have our second legislative session. Mister speaker, I believe there are resolutions that are at the desk relating to the closing of twenty twenty five legislative session, and I would like to ask that we take up those resolutions at this time.

[Carl E. Heastie, Speaker of the New York State Assembly]: Okay. Before we do that, madam majority leader, just wanna thank father Duvair for being here to give the opening prayer. He is director of Saint Luke's Saint Luke's Episcopal Church, which is in my assembly district. It is a church that is very special to me. It's the church where both of my parents were funeralized. And most recently, you know, father DeVea and he's joined by his wife and and two other extraordinary members of Saint Luke's Episcopal Church. Most recently, and one of the things that I love about father DeVea is that he doesn't just worry about the members of his church. He feels even though they're not members of Saint Luke's, he feels everybody in the community is a is a member of his church. And most recently, I partnered with Bronx district attorney to do a gun buyback program at Saint Luke's, and and father DeVea opened up the the the, I'd say, the the doors of the church, and we recovered a 180 guns, including semiautomatic weapons. So I want to thank him for that. And if you ever need a prayer, let this guy pray for you. You will feel like your prayer all your prayers have been answered, and all that's your problems will be gone. So, father, thank you again for being here. This is his second time this is his second time, but because I I like to invite pastors from and and church leaders from my district, but he's a twofer, and he's a twofer because he actually did the opening when we were remote. So I wanted to give him the opportunity to be here in person. So you're so special, you got to do it twice. So to the res a resolution by miss People Stokes for the purpose of adjourning, CNADA the 2025 session of the legislature. Miss People Stokes.

[Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, Assembly Majority Leader]: Mister speaker, offer the following resolution and move its adoption.

[Carl E. Heastie, Speaker of the New York State Assembly]: The clerk will read the resolution.

[Assembly Reading Clerk]: Assembly number eight twenty three, concurrent resolution of the senate and assembly relative to the to the adjournment of senate d a of the 2025 session of the legislature.

[Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, Assembly Majority Leader]: Madam clerk, is your mic on?

[Assembly Reading Clerk]: Sorry. Sorry about that. Assembly number eight twenty three. Assembly resolution, concurrent resolution of the senate and assembly relative to the adjournment of the 2,025 session of the legislature.

[Carl E. Heastie, Speaker of the New York State Assembly]: The clerk will record the vote. Announce the results.

[Assembly Reading Clerk]: Ayes, one twenty seven. Nose, zero.

[Carl E. Heastie, Speaker of the New York State Assembly]: The resolution is adopted. Miss People Stokes.

[Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, Assembly Majority Leader]: Mister speaker, I move to reconsider the vote on the final passage of all assembly bills returned from the senate. All bills which were lost and all bills recalled from the senate.

[Carl E. Heastie, Speaker of the New York State Assembly]: The The clerk on miss Peeplestoke's motion, the clerk will record the vote. Oh, he wants to okay. I'm sorry. The clerk will announce the results.

[Assembly Reading Clerk]: Ayes, one twenty seven, nos at zero.

[Carl E. Heastie, Speaker of the New York State Assembly]: The motion carries. Miss People Stokes.

[Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, Assembly Majority Leader]: Mister speaker, I now move that in accordance with the provisions of section two of rule three, those bills returned from the senate be ordered to the order of the third reading unless otherwise required to be committed to a committee pursuant to rule three.

[Carl E. Heastie, Speaker of the New York State Assembly]: On miss Peoples Stokes' motion, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, nay. The motion carries. Miss Peoples Stokes.

[Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, Assembly Majority Leader]: Mister speaker, I move that any bill on the order of third reading at the close of the 2025 legislation legislative session shall be directed to the order of the third reading at the commencement of the 2026 legislative section.

[Carl E. Heastie, Speaker of the New York State Assembly]: On miss Peoples Stokes' motion, all those in favor signify by saying aye.

[Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, Assembly Majority Leader]: Aye.

[Carl E. Heastie, Speaker of the New York State Assembly]: All opposed, nay. The motion carries. Miss Peoples Stokes.

[Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, Assembly Majority Leader]: Mister speaker, I now move that with the exception of those bills that have been directed to the third reading, all remaining bills refer to a committee pursuant to the provisions of section two rule three.

[Carl E. Heastie, Speaker of the New York State Assembly]: On miss Peoples Stokes motion, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, nay. Speaker. The motion carries. Miss Peoples Stokes.

[Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, Assembly Majority Leader]: Mister speaker, I now move to reconsider the vote by which all senate bills were substituted except those which were signed, vetoed, or pending action by the governor, or delivered to the secretary of state and said bills be returned to the senate.

[Carl E. Heastie, Speaker of the New York State Assembly]: On miss People Stokes motion, all those in favor signify by saying aye.

[Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, Assembly Majority Leader]: Aye.

[Carl E. Heastie, Speaker of the New York State Assembly]: Opposed, nay. The motion carries. I now declare the 2025 session adjourned. The house will come to order. Let us pause for a moment of silence. Visitors invited to join the members in the pledge of allegiance. Miss people stokes.

[Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, Assembly Majority Leader]: I offer the following resolutions and move its adoption.

[Carl E. Heastie, Speaker of the New York State Assembly]: The clerk will read.

[Assembly Reading Clerk]: Resolved that a committee of two be appointed by the speaker to advise the governor that the assembly has adjourned its 2025 session, Cinna DA, and has again convened and is organized and ready to proceed with business.

[Carl E. Heastie, Speaker of the New York State Assembly]: All those in favor of the resolution signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, nay. The resolution is adopted. I hereby appoint miss People Stokes and mister Barkley as a committee of two to to so advise the governor at the conclusion of today's session. Mister Pretlow. We offer the following resolution and move its adoption.

[Assembly Reading Clerk]: The clerk will read. Resolved that a committee of two be appointed by the speaker to advise the senate that the assembly has adjourned its 2025 session CNADA and has again convened and is organized and ready to proceed with business.

[Carl E. Heastie, Speaker of the New York State Assembly]: All those in favor of the resolution signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, nay. The resolution is adopted. I hereby appoint mister Pretlow and the man with the longest name in the legislature, mister Ra, as a committee of two, to so advise the senate upon the conclusion of today's session. Alright. Thank you, everyone. So good morning, members, staff, and guests. I wanna begin by wishing everyone a happy and healthy New Year, and thank you for joining us in the People's House once again. I also wanna wish again a warm welcome to our honored guest, the reverend I mean, the father Pierre Andre DeVoeur, who was director of the Saint Luke's Episcopal Church as I mentioned before. When I first became speaker, I urged our chamber to focus on making the everyday lives of New York's hardworking families easier. I deeply believe families are what makes our state special, and it's our responsibility to ensure they have the resources they need to thrive in their communities. And over the last few years, we've taken significant steps to achieve that goal. We've provided tax cuts to put money back into New York's New Yorkers' pockets, and we paid off the unemployment insurance debt to give much needed relief to small businesses. I hope there's a lot of clapping after this. We are focused on making housing more affordable, investing in projects that make owning a home an achievable dream. We've worked to greenlight more construction projects to lower the cost of renting and to implement critical tenant protections. Affordable childcare has been a priority of this chamber since long before I became speaker or even a member of this august body. A little history lesson, the first push for universal pre k in New York State began here in the assembly in 1997. I don't even know if mister Berger was born then, but and the assembly fought to fund and expand access to childcare in subsequent years. When When our families alerted us to the rising cost of childcare, we invested in opportunities to make care more accessible so children have somewhere safe to be with their families while their families work. But, clearly, there's more work still to be done. We put money more money back into the pockets of hardworking families, enhancing the Empire Child Tax Credit by increasing the maximum credit. This will provide yes. Please applaud that. This will provide more than $2,100,000,000 in tax relief for families over three years. And we've invested deeply in education. We fully funded foundation aid, which takes pressure off of local property taxpayers. Alright, Jessica. Last year, we passed the universal school lunch program, which has been which has been a rousing success. It allows our children to start their day the right way and provides a vital relief to hardworking families. And we made sure there have been no tuition increases at our public colleges since 2021 so that every young person can continue to have access to a world class education. But while we've been working hard to take care of our families, unfortunately, this federal government has been chipping away at that foundation that has made our nation so special. They're making it harder for people to stay healthy, put food on the table, and work towards the American dream. And rather than helping families, the leadership in Washington plays political games with facts, using misinformation and scare tactics to support their dangerous actions. They have cut health care coverage with no thought for our most vulnerable, and they seem not to care about the additional costs all taxpayers now face. They cut SNAP benefits and other critical social safety net benefits without a care for families in our urban, suburban, and rural communities that rely on the support to keep fresh food on the table. They've limited low interest student loans, ensuring that those trying to further their education are saddled with untenable levels of debt for years. Students will have to decide whether they can afford the mountains of debt they will have to take on in order to pursue higher education. With promises made to billion billionaire donors, they've decided to sell out New York's hardworking families all while lying about the true impact of their efforts. But we all know the truth. We know the destruction these cuts will do to our nation and to communities right here in New York State. The so called big beautiful bill is nothing but a big lie. It is inter it is increasing the deficit, and New Yorkers will be responsible for paying the interest on the financing of that debt. This federal administration said they would fight inflation. Instead, prices continue to rise, and it has been exacerbated by the establishment of retaliatory tariffs. There this is also having a devastating effect on our farmers. Across the state, they are struggling with rising prices on necessary supplies and equipment as a result of these tariffs as well as having to manage cuts to vital programs. Here in New York, we will do all we can to uplift our farmers and support the agricultural economy that is the backbone of our state. And despite all of this, I urge us to stand strong. I urge us to remember the fact that we all know how to take care of families here in New York. In spite of all that Washington is doing to us, we know how to fight to ensure that every New Yorker can climb the economic ladder of success, that every child in every home from Long Island to Buffalo can dream of a better tomorrow. We must do all we can to lower costs for our families, ensuring their dollar stretches even further. This means continuing to invest and incentivize the construction of new properties across the state, lowering the cost of housing, as well as funding meaningful relief for those burdened by high rents. By con by continuing to invest in childcare, after school programs, and summer camps, we can make them more affordable and accessible to hardworking families. By ensuring that all young people have a safe place to be, we can provide their family members the peace of mind and flexibility needed to support their household. And despite our best efforts to keep money in the pockets of New York's families, the federal administration's draconian cuts to our health care system puts millions on the edge of financial ruin. The data is very, very, very clear on this. These cuts jeopardize the health care coverage of 1,500,000 New Yorkers, including 750,000 children. Premiums for New Yorkers receiving subsidies will increase by an average of 38%, and a 140,000 New Yorkers are facing steep health care cost increases. Though we've continued to support our hospitals and health care systems and the families that rely on them, we cannot make the pain of losing coverage go away. The federal government's actions will hurt our urban and suburban hospitals, but will be truly devastating for our rural health centers. We must continue to urge our colleagues in Washington, but in particular, the seven members from New York who serve in the house majority, to walk back this decision before it goes into effect and before their constituents bear the full weight of this decision. It's the hospitals and their communities who emergency rooms will be overwhelmed, patients who couldn't afford the preventative care that will would have lessened emergency room visits. It's their neighbors who will be one unplanned emergency away from thousands of debt dollars in medical debt and no help to climb out of it. While the federal administration attacks the foundation of our education system, we must continue to invest in our schools. For years, we provided all our schools, big and small, the resources they need to prepare all students for the future. Now more than ever, we must continue to stand by our educators and ensure that they have all the tools they need to support the growth of our young people. And as this same federal administration continues to devalue the achievement of a college degree, we must continue to support our SUNY and CUNY schools. For generations, our young people have been able to springboard up the ladder of success by receiving a world class education. I'm a perfect example. I'm a two four undergraduate degree at SUNY and a master's degree at CUNY. We will continue to invest in our state's higher education system, providing all New Yorkers the opportunity to receive a college degree. The effort to cut the critical funding for our state is deeply concerning. But again, this federal administration's efforts to roll back foundational policy that keeps our families safe, healthy, and thriving is downright dangerous. For generations now, our families have been protected protected by life changing science of vaccines, Families of newborns and individuals with compromised immune systems didn't have to worry about catching polio or the measles since science had won out. But due to the radical views of a handful of a handful of people in Washington, this is no longer a guarantee. New York must do more to protect vaccine research and stand by our medical professionals as they educate families on the importance of protecting their loved ones. This disregard for scientific facts spreads into the federal administration's efforts to roll back environmental and climate change policies, Policies that were meant to keep families safe and preserve our planet for future generations. But here in New York, we stand by that science. As storms surge and temperatures rise, we see the devastation of climate change, the likes of which we saw on our recent humanitarian mission to the beautiful island of Jamaica. We stand by the experts in their recommendations on keeping our communities safe. We remain committed to safeguarding measures that protect the environment and curb climate change, and we will continue to fight back against Washington's attempts to roll back those policies. My friends and colleagues, the stakes have never been higher. New York has always been a beacon of hope and possibility to people throughout the world. What we do here in New York in these coming months will resonate across the country. Now more than ever, we need bold, bold action. And I'm always strengthened by the enthusiasm and hard work of my colleagues in the majority. Your ideas, energy, and cooperation are always a source of inspiration, and I know that by working together, we will reach new heights in this coming session. I look forward to working with governor Hochul, majority leader Andrew Stewart Cousins, and our colleagues in the state senate, and the new leadership in the cities and towns throughout our state to deliver the solutions our communities need. And to our colleagues in the minority, as I always say, we may have our differences, but let us show the rest of the country how to lead with respect and courtesy to one another. I thank minority leader Will Barkley for his friendship and our extraordinary working relationship. And that's not part of his speech. It's genuine. I really love that guy. He's great. And every year since I've been become speaker of this great body, I've had the privilege of visiting communities on my annual state tour, meeting with people and groups that are working to make our state better. These visits show me exactly what is at stake in our communities and are a reminder of the work we must do to limit the damage of this federal administration. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. We do know how to take care of our families here in New York. We will not stand silent stay stay silent or stand by as those in Washington destroy all that we fought for. Instead, we'll work together to continue to build communities that are more affordable, safer, and where all individuals have the tools they need to provide for themselves and their loved ones. Now I would like to have everyone join me in extending a warm welcome to our graduate intern class of 2026. On behalf of all the members, I wanna thank assembly member Alicia Hyman, who is our chair of the higher education committee, as well as the intern committee, Kathleen McCarty, our program director, doctor Angela Ledford, and doctor Laura Rabinow and Nick Toney for all that you do. Thank you so much. So once again, welcome back to the People's House for the two hundred and forty ninth legislative session. Together, we will continue to work toward a future where all families can dream of a better tomorrow. Now my colleagues, let's get to work. Thank you. Twelve years, y'all still make me blush. Miss People Stokes.

[Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, Assembly Majority Leader]: Thank you, mister speaker, and happy new years to all. It is wonderful to see all of my colleagues again in this very historic chambers. 249 sessions. This is what we're starting here. Talk about being a part of history. We are history. I'm excited to welcome our new colleague again, mister Cashman from the North Country for his first session. And mister speaker, it is with immense appreciation and enthusiasm that I have the opportunity to stand here as we convene New York state assembly's two hundred and forty ninth legislative session. Thank you, sir, for reminding us of our significant accomplishments during the previous sessions and laying out your vision for how the legislature can continue to make the lives of New Yorkers better. Your leadership and your steadfast commitment to the people of the state of New York have been unparalleled, and I I really appreciate you. I really appreciate you. Thank you. I also wanna add this. I have real heartfelt gratitude, mister speaker, that you would honor me with the privilege to continue to serve as your majority leader. Thank you, sir. This year this year, 2026, marks the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the declaration of independence. Celebrations, festivities, and commemorations are being planned as we speak, not just across the state, but across the nation. This is an historic year for our country as we celebrate two hundred and fifty years of deciding that The United States Of America will not be under the control of a monarchy monarchy monarchy monarchy. Thank you for getting that out. And declaring that we hold these truths to be self evident, self evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, and that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That was true two hundred and fifty years ago. We're gonna stand by that in 2026 as well. There's no room for monarchy in America. This anniversary reminds me just how important it is to preserve our history and to ensure that an accurate and full account of the past is available and studied. Our country is marvelous. Our history is marvelous. It's complicated. It's full of amazing accomplishments, but it also has some unimaginable pain and suffering. These things cannot be forgotten. Certain efforts to erase or diminish difficult aspects of our history must not be tolerated. We must speak against the move to pretend like the accomplishments of certain people based on their gender or ethnicity never happened or that is not important. Silence is complicity. We must not be silent in these times when our history is being threatened. Right where we're in the process of making the future history. We must not be silent. A philosopher George Santaniana words of in nineteen o five, Those who cannot remember the past are gonna be condemned to repeat it. Let's not be those that repeat the past that we've had over two hundred and fifty years. It is my hope that this two hundred and forty ninth legislative session will be historic in all of the accomplishments that we will create for the good people of the state of New York. One area I expect we will focus on making New York is more affordable. My car insurance is too much. More affordable. There's a way that we can work these things out, I'm almost sure of it. Affordability is not a buzzword. It's not a democratic hoax. It's not a political pawn to be used to score political points. People truly are struggling to afford to meet their basic needs. And, you know, I make light of it that my insurance is too high. But if mine is too high, so are other people across the state that don't have the same capacity to pay it as I have. And so again, people's struggles are real. They're not able to meet basic needs. Last year, we were just worrying about the price of eggs. Now we're concerned about the price of everything. Milk, bread, canned goods, fresh meat, fresh vegetables, we're concerned about the price of everything now. That's real for people. Insurance costs, child care costs, health care costs, all of these things are increasing. It's our challenge, mister speaker and my colleagues, to figure out how to bring some bring that down to allow people a better opportunity to use the minimal limited resources that they have to live a better life. I believe that's possible. And I think that we have everything we need in this chambers that makes that a reality for New Yorkers. And I look forward to working with everyone on making that happen. The various systems people navigate are all interconnected. And we as state lawmakers must find a way to deliver results that improve constituents' lives. I trust that under your leadership, mister speaker, and with the work of all my colleagues that we would do just that. I look forward to a robust debate. We are good at that in these chambers. That will occur over the course of this session over the next few months. I thank minority leader Will Barkley, and I certainly thank floor leader Mary Beth Walsh and all of my colleagues for offering your respective viewpoints with candor and respectful dialogue. At the end of the day, in every day, we all have the same goal, and that's delivering results for the constituents that we serve and the entire state of New York. To mark your words, mister speaker, let's get to work.

[Carl E. Heastie, Speaker of the New York State Assembly]: Thank you, madam leader. Mister Barkley.

[Will Barclay, Assembly Minority Leader]: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And maybe this year is a good year that I'm going to be the last speaker here today. But before I begin my formal remarks, Mr. Speaker, there's plenty of thank yous that I'd like to say. First of all, thank you, Mr. Speaker, for your friendship and your collegiality to me. As the speaker mentioned, he travels the state, I think it was, what, a year ago last fall that you were kind enough to come up to my hometown. So I was very honored by that and say you're always welcome back. In fact, this chamber is welcome. Well, almost everybody in this chamber is welcome to come. Just don't come down because we got four and a half feet of snow this past weekend unless you want to go snowballing with me this weekend. So any event, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Madam Majority Leader, thank you too for your friendship and all the cooperation that you give us on the floor. And most of all, I want to thank the conference. It's been an honor. It is an honor to be your leader. I appreciate the trust that you've put in, and I can't think of a better group that I want to serve with than a Republican conference. So thank you for that. So my colleagues, I always enjoy the first day of session. There is a lot of optimism. I think there's a lot of excitement about the serious issues that we're about to undertake this year. The opening of a new legislative session always brings with it a sense of possibility. No matter your party or your philosophy, we are united by the same responsibility. And I think that's what you said, And, madam, majority leader, we wanna improve the lives of all New Yorkers. And anyone who knows me, they know that I believe in collaboration, better government, better public policy, and meaningful progress happens when Democrats and Republicans work together. I look forward to that collaboration this session because bettering the lives of New Yorkers cannot happen in isolation. It must start here and it must be done together. Thank you. So while we begin another session with optimism, far too many New Yorkers are experiencing something very different at home. Rising costs, shrinking opportunities, and the growing sense that the state they love is becoming harder and harder to afford and harder to justify staying in. New York has become one of the most expensive places in The United States to live, work, and raise a family. And that's a direct result of policy choices. We have the highest combined state and local tax burden in the nation. New Yorkers paid nearly 50% more in state and local taxes per capita than the national average. Since 2014, we have ranked first or second nationally for the highest state and local tax burden. We spend more than almost any other state, yet too often taxpayers see waste, they see cost overruns, and they see the lack of accountability for where their tax dollars go. New Yorkers, we also lead the nation in energy costs. The average New York household pays well above the national average for electricity, heating, and utility bills. And those costs, unfortunately, continue to rise. For seniors on fixed incomes, for families trying to get by, for small businesses that are barely hanging on, these are not abstract policy debates. These are monthly bills that determine whether people can afford to stay. And I remember a few years ago when the Republican conference questioned some of the energy overhaul that we're doing in New York state. We may have questioned that cost. In our editorial page, it said we're climate deniers. Well, I'm happy the governor and a number of my Democratic colleagues have now come to our side and they understand these costs, maybe we ought to delay some of these policies. So I say welcome aboard. Sadly, costs are no better. New York remains among the least affordable state in the country for housing with medium home prices and rents far exceeding exceeding the national norms. Young people are delaying homeownership, families are doubling up, workers are commuting longer distance, or worse, leaving altogether. My colleagues, for several years now, New York has experienced a net population loss at alarming rate. We are ranked second in domestic out migration with more than 2,000,000 people leaving New York since '20 between 2013 and 2023. People leaving are not statistics. Tragically, they're our neighbors. They're our workforce. They're our taxpayers. And maybe worst of all, they're our children. When people vote with their feet, we should pay attention. Now, some will say these problems are happening everywhere. Some might even say, point the fingers at Washington, But blaming Washington does not lower a single electric bill in Buffalo, doesn't build a single affordable house on Long Island, or helps to have a family stay in the Hudson Valley. New York controls its own destiny on taxes, spending, energy policy, housing, and regulation. If we're honest with ourselves, the direction that we've been heading is not working. We've embraced the tax and spend model that assumes government always knows best and the higher spending automatically produces better outcomes. It does not. We have seen this movie before, not just here, but around the world. Socialism, wherever has been tried, has promised fair fairness and has delivered scarcity. It has promised security and produced stagnation. From Eastern Europe to Latin America, from Venezuela to the former Soviet black, results are the same. Higher cost, fewer opportunities, and less freedom. New York should not move further in that direction. You may be surprised. Thank you. You may be surprised. We, as republicans, believe it's time for a change in direction. We believe New York's economy should be defined by the opportunities we provide, not the taxes we collect. We believe revenue raisers are not the building blocks of prosperity. We believe that while collectivism may promise warmth, that warmth is fleeting rather it's the policies that empower the individual, protected property rights, inspired innovation that has made The United States the greatest economic engine the world has ever seen. That's why us as Assembly Republicans support suspending the state sales tax and everyday household items, broadening tax credits, eliminating taxes on tip, and capping the state spending growth to inflation. This legislature, my friends, has a choice. Reversing course starts here, it starts in this chamber, and it starts with collaboration. So, mister speaker, thank you. I look forward to working with you. All my colleagues, thank you. Happy new year and I look forward to the work we have ahead. Thank you.

[Carl E. Heastie, Speaker of the New York State Assembly]: Miss People Stokes.

[Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, Assembly Majority Leader]: Mister speaker, in accordance with the provisions of rule nine section one of the assembly rules, I would like to make notice that on or after Monday, 01/12/2026, the majority intends to amend the assembly rules. Mister speaker, I'll now move that the assembly standard adjourn until tomorrow, January 8. January 8 being a legislative day, and that we reconvene on Monday, January 12 at 2PM. Monday being a session day.

[Carl E. Heastie, Speaker of the New York State Assembly]: On miss Peoples Stokes motion, the house stands adjourned.