Yesterday, Governor Hochul told reporters that she has not ruled out the idea of calling state lawmakers back to the Capitol for Extraordinary Session before the end of the year to address the crisis over the influx of migrants into New York.

While the Governor stated that she is exploring all options at the state level, simultaneously, she called on Congress, specifically Republican members, to push for action that would include expedited work approval for asylum-seekers and additional federal aid.

In the interim, some state lawmakers have begun proposing their own measures to address migrant issues within New York State. However, at the moment, there’s been no traction regarding an imminent Special Session. 

Governor Celebrates Groundbreaking of Strong Memorial Hospital Emergency Department Expansion

Governor Hochul today announced the groundbreaking of the $650 million Strong Memorial Hospital Emergency Department expansion and modernization project in Rochester. The project at the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Strong Memorial Hospital will significantly expand and modernize the hospital’s emergency department, more than tripling the size of the existing emergency department and providing more than 650,000 square feet of new hospital space. The project was awarded $50 million through the Statewide Health Care Facility Transformation Program IV.

The current 55,000-square-foot facility at Strong Memorial Hospital, the region’s only Level 1 Adult Trauma Center, receives more than 100,000 emergency department visitors annually. The expansion project will more than triple the size of the emergency department, thereby easing overcrowding situations and reducing wait times for admission to hospital.

The project is the largest in the University of Rochester’s history and is expected to be completed in 2027 consisting of two components:

• Add more than 200 examination/treatment and patient observation stations in phases to the ED and the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP). The ED and CPEP footprint will more than triple, from 32,000 square feet to 120,000 square feet.
• A new nine-story inpatient bed tower, which will add ED space, floors for future operating rooms and treatment services, including cardiovascular specialties, and more than 100 private inpatient rooms.

University of Rochester President Sarah Mangelsdorf said:

Governor Hochul said:

Highlighted Legislation Signed by the Governor

This week, Governor Kathy Hochul held multiple bill-signing events and highlighted the following legislation.

Labor and Employment

Governor Hochul signed a package of legislation in an effort to support protect and expand benefits for New York workers. Bills included in this package are as follows:

• (4982 – Ramos/A.6604 – Reyes) – Expands protections of employee’s freedom of speech and conscience, further prohibiting employers from disciplining employees who opt not to participate in meetings sponsored by the employer concerning the employer’s views on political and religious matters.
• (2832A – Breslin/A.154A – Cruz) – Adds wage theft to the types of activities included in the crime of larceny. By amending the penal code, this legislation allows prosecutors to seek stronger penalties against employers who steal wages from workers.
• (1161A – Sanders/A.2034A – Joyner) – Increases the minimum benefits for workers’ compensation to better protect low wage workers who are injured and cannot work. This piece of legislation provides minimum benefits for permanent or temporary partial disability to be increased to $275 in 2024, increased to $325 in 2025, and increased to one-fifth of the state average weekly wage in 2026.

Governor Hochul said:

Expanding Access to Civil Service Opportunities

Governor Hochul signed the following package of bills in an effort to expand access to opportunities in civil service in New York State:

• (5486 – Jackson/A.6855 – Amato) – Requires the Department of Civil Service (DCS) and municipal civil service commissions to make civil service examination announcements to the local Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), local school districts, public colleges, public universities, local social services districts, and, to the extent practicable, job training programs. These institutions would also be allowed to sign up for electronic notification of exams.
• (5494 – Jackson/A.7155 – Amato) – Requires that any time a public employee spends in a provisional title counts toward any required probationary time period that the employee must serve when they become a permanent employee in the same title.

Governor Hochul said:

Actions to expand and support a diverse teacher workforce in New York State

To celebrate back-to-school week, and expand and support a diverse teacher workforce throughout the state, Governor Hochul signed the following legislation to take action:

• (2140B – Liu/ A.68A – Sayegh) – Directs the Commissioner of the State Education Department, in consultation with institutions of higher education, to issue guidance to school districts and boards of cooperative educational services for developing programs to attract underrepresented candidates into the teaching profession and to identify existing funding available to school districts for such purposes.
• (1746 – Ramos/A.1120 – Joyner) – Requires public school districts to develop and implement programs to prevent workplace violence, in alignment with other public employers.

Governor Hochul said:

Governor Directs Department of Public Service to Secure Refunds for Cable Consumers

The Governor directed the Department of Public Service (“DPS”) to ensure Charter delivers refunds for New York consumers who have experienced disrupted service amid the ongoing cable dispute between Charter and The Walt Disney Company. Nearly 15 million cable viewers nationwide – more than 1.5 million in New York State – lost access to ESPN and other Disney-owned channels on August 31 when Disney and Charter were unable to renew a distribution deal.

DPS sent a letter to Charter as part of their efforts to deliver refunds to customers who have been affected by the lapse in Disney-owned programming.

Governor Hochul said: