Hochul's first State of the State proposal: 'inflation rebate' checks

Also: Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is no longer facing a federal sexual harassment lawsuit from Charlotte Bennett.

Good afternoon — it’s Monday and National Pastry Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• Hochul wants to send taxpayers an “inflation rebate” of up to $500 per family next year, she announced Monday.

• Charlotte Bennett has dropped her federal lawsuit against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

• NYSUT and education stakeholders are pushing Hochul to have a policy on smartphones in schools to propose in January.

• This Week in New York History: Ice cream cones, the first NYC newspaper and Grandma Moses

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(New York Governor’s Office)

💵 Hochul wants to send 8.6 million New Yorkers checks of at least $300

The governor is beginning to roll out some of the proposals expected in her State of the State address next month.

It’s like a less fun version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”

And our partridge in a pear tree, if we’re to keep that metaphor, was announced Monday by Hochul in the Bronx: an “inflation rebate.”

Here’s how it would work, as far as we know:

• $300 checks would go to individuals earning less than $150,000 each year.

• $500 checks would go to couples and people with dependents in households with an income less than $300,000.

It’s like a mini-stimulus check, but Hochul said that’s not why she’s proposing it.

“This is money that all New Yorkers overpaid because inflation was just too damn high for the last three years,” Hochul said. “This is your money.”

For more details on what that would mean, read this story I wrote for the Times Union today. (Free for CapCon subscribers)

Free money without a catch sounds pretty good to most people — but most people aren’t involved in New York politics and government.

“Anytime the state is returning money back into the pockets of overburdened taxpayers is a good thing, but the economic woes New Yorkers are facing are based on systemic problems in our state that have been exacerbated by inflation,” said state Sen. Jim Tedisco, a Republican from Saratoga County.

“The governor’s rebate check proposal, while a step in the right direction, is a Band-Aid on a gushing wound that requires major surgery to heal,” he added.

On the other end of the political spectrum, the Invest in Our New York campaign said Hochul could generate more revenue to help New Yorkers through higher taxes on high-income earners.

“With the impending federal budget cuts coming from the Trump administration, Gov. Hochul and state lawmakers need to go much further than sending one-time payments, and do everything they can to keep money in New Yorkers’ pockets for the long term,” said Carolyn Martinez-Class, who manages that campaign.

(John Minchillo/Associated Press)

⚖️ Charlotte Bennett drops sexual harassment suit against Cuomo