In Post Election Zeal, Hochul Vetoes 51 Bills in Less Than Three Weeks

By:  Ilana Siyance

Since being elected as a full-term governor of New York in the November 8th election, Gov. Kathy Hochul has been exercising her right to veto.

As reported by the NY Post, Gov. Hochul had not vetoed even a single standalone bill in the last 11 months.  It seems she may have wanted to steer clear of any touchy issues, afraid to offend any party or group. Suddenly, however, after the elections she has become emboldened, issuing at least 51 vetoes in less than three weeks.  It may be that she was too entrenched earlier in the elections and hoping to win over votes from a broad spectrum of New Yorkers, to worry about the papers piling up on her desk.  Critics, however, are faulting the governor saying her decision to wait on the vetoes till after the election shows she lacks a political backbone. They note that Gov. Hochul has steered clear of stating her definitive position on many controversial issues– including criminal justice reforms. “It’s a real profile in courage, and unfortunately New Yorkers elected to stick with this finger in the wind approach to government,” City Councilman Joe Borelli (R-Staten Island), a close ally of her opponent Lee Zeldin, said on Monday.

For her part, Hochul has said in her veto message that the legislations she rejected would have cost taxpayers money and drawn resources away from her administration’s priorities.  This is despite the fact that in April she passed a record-breaking $220 billion state budget.

As per the Post, the vetoed legislations included 39 bills aimed at empowering task forces, commissions and state agencies to study issues such as construction of affordable housing, juvenile incarceration rates and the impact COVID-19 had on group homes for the developmentally disabled. “These unbudgeted costs would create significant staffing and other programmatic burdens on state agencies. Additionally, because of the ongoing work of state agencies and authorities, a number of proposals would result in duplication and unnecessary bureaucracy,” reads a veto message.

Gov.Hochul’s spokeswoman Hazel Crampton-Hays commented Monday regarding the vetoes saying, “Gov. Hochul took action to save New York taxpayers from $40 million in unbudgeted costs and additional bureaucracy, and she will continue her collaborative and productive relationship with the legislature in the upcoming session.”

Political experts say Gov. Hochul’s veto-happy month is an expected result of her election victory.  “Kathy Hochul is acting governor no more,” political consultant Hank Sheinkopf said.  “She’s the boss. And vetoes are a good way to tell anyone who might think differently that ‘make no mistake, she’s in charge,’” he added.

Past governors have similarly rejected legislation that enabled task forces, commissions and other panels, opting to rather focus on their own administration’s projects.  It’s also not uncommon for governors to wait for the final weeks of the year to decide the fate of hundreds of remaining bills.  “The vetoes are pretty routine exercises and reflect the governor protecting her institutional prerogatives,” political consultant Evan Stavisky told The Post.