Musical (committee) chairs in the Senate and Assembly to start session

And Trump asked New York's highest court Thursday to delay his criminal sentencing.

Good afternoon — it’s Thursday and National Law Enforcement Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• Hochul unveiled new housing proposals Thursday aimed at preventing homes from being snatched up by private equity firms.

• Committee chairs and leadership assignments were released by the Senate and Assembly Thursday.

• New York’s highest court has weighed in on President-elect Donald J. Trump’s sentencing scheduled Friday.

• Rules and Regs: Mental health in the ER, replacing addiction terms

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Hochul when she proposed housing policy in 2024 (Will Waldron/Times Union)

🏠 Hochul pitches housing policies on hedge funds to help homebuyers

When I sat down with Gov. Kathy Hochul last July at Hearst Tower in Manhattan, I spent the hour waiting to ask the question I really wanted her to answer.

We were on the topic of housing after she and the state Legislature agreed to a package of spending and policy measures intended to spur development in New York City while limiting when tenants can be evicted.

Housing in New York City is important to me. My closest friends live in Harlem and Bay Ridge. I hear all about how difficult it is to find an affordable apartment.

But there’s a different housing problem that’s emerged upstate in recent years. I only know about it because I’ve been on the hunt for a house for almost four years now.

“Upstate, there’s this problem where a house goes on the market and house flippers and corporations snatch it up within 24 hours and it’s created this vacuum where people like me can no longer afford homes because they flip them and make them too expensive. Is that on your radar?” I asked Hochul.

I don’t think it was on her radar then because she didn’t address that specific problem, instead pointing to the broader housing shortage and how new construction could help fix it.

“If people, communities, decisionmakers, throughout the state would’ve opened up the door for more housing to be built, you’d be able to have a house by now,” Hochul said.

But we know it’s on her radar now because she announced a new package of housing proposals Thursday.

(Leon Brown/Hearst)

🔑 What Hochul will propose in her State of the State

The package, according to Hochul, is intended to help first-time homebuyers while preventing private equity firms and hedge funds from snatching up homes at lightning speeds.

“Shadowy private equity giants are buying up the housing supply in communities across New York, leaving everyday homebuyers with fewer and fewer affordable options,” Hochul said in a statement.

Hochul wants to disincentivize institutional investors, like hedge funds and private equity firms, from buying single- and two-family homes in particular.

Those investors would have to wait 75 days to make an offer on those homes. Hochul also wants to prohibit them from taking advantage of certain tax incentives that make buying and selling, or leasing, one of those homes more lucrative.

That’s the policy side. The money side is more straightforward.

Hochul’s plan would use $50 million to incentivize the construction of starter homes and another $50 million to help first-time homebuyers afford a down payment. She also wants to create an opt-in property tax incentive for purchase of affordable homes.

That’s the pitch. Whether the Legislature will support it is unclear; the real estate lobby in Albany is strong. If you’re part of it, let me know what you think about Hochul’s proposals.

(Will Waldron/Times Union)

🫵 Changes in Senate leadership and committee chairs

The Senate has fewer members than the Assembly so it’s easier to track what’s new this year. Leadership positions have not changed. Unless noted, these are current Democratic members.