The state Assembly over two days in Albany this week passed hundreds of measures as they closed the six-month legislative session.
But lawmakers refused to take up a bill that would have expanded subsidized health coverage to include more New Yorkers, regardless of their immigration status.
Advocates were disappointed by the lack of progress on the measure in the state Assembly, which passed the state Senate earlier this month. However, Gov. Kathy Hochul has raised cost concerns about the legislation, showing skepticism about whether the money was available from a long-term untapped pot of federal dollars.
New York was able to get permission from the federal government to tap the money, which Hochul had pegged at more than $2 billion.
“This year, Albany lacked the political courage to do what is right not just for immigrant New Yorkers, but for all New Yorkers,” said Murad Awawdeh, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition. “Our jobs remain a crucial part of New York’s economic engine and when our families are struggling, so is New York. It is deeply disappointing that Albany failed immigrant New Yorkers in their time of need, when xenophobic attacks and anti-immigrant sentiment are rising across the state.”
Hochul in previous years has vetoed bills with expenses attached, arguing they should be considered as part of budget discussions.
Republicans, for their part, were critical of the two days of legislative work in Albany, in which a series of measures at the local level have been approved.
Rep. Ed Ra, a Republican from Long Island, decried the lack of agreement to address issues such as crime and the cost of living in New York.
“Assembly Democrats once again had an opportunity to focus on key issues that have fueled the mass exodus of New Yorkers: a dangerous rise in crime and an affordability crisis caused by rapid inflation and ‘excessive taxation,’ said Ra. “Instead, spending. increased to even more unsustainable levels, and we are now looking at a deficit of more than $9 billion in next year’s budget. In addition, the majority refused to allow the projects of legislation to address the increase in crime caused by bail and discovery reform or to establish a plan to manage the influx of migrants into New York State.”
