N.Y. Gov. Hochul on inflation: New Yorkers should get refund checks

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — In advance of her upcoming 2025 State of the State Address on Jan. 14, Gov. Kathy Hochul is promoting several initiatives intended to address the cost-of-living crisis in New York City and throughout the state.

“It’s a new year in New York, and this year means new money in your pockets,” the governor said on Friday. “Today we stand together to continue the fight for your families that I started when I first became governor three years ago. Our fight is for your families, but also to make New York more affordable for all of our hard working families.”

The governor is proposing New York State’s first-ever Inflation Refund checks intended to deliver about $3 billion in direct payments to around 8.6 million New York taxpayers this year.

The income limits are high enough that many hard-working Staten Islanders likely will qualify for the refunds. Single taxpayers who make up to $150,000 per year would receive $300 and joint tax filers earning up to $300,000 per year would gain $500 under the governor’s affordability agenda.

“Middle-class families who have been working hard their whole lives are just feeling the squeeze, and it’s no fault of their own,” Hochul said. “They didn’t ask for inflation to drive up everything.”

The governor touted that beginning this month statewide, the minimum wage for workers has increased, expectant mothers are the first in the nation to receive paid prenatal leaves and there is a ban on insulin co-payments for state-regulated insurance plans.

The Inflation Refund plan would be financed by the $3 billion surplus in sales-tax revenue due to spiraling costs for groceries and other necessities since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“You know about the $500, right?” the governor said. “You’ve all heard about this one, our novel plan to put $500 back in the pockets of families of people earning over $300,000 or less. We’re hitting a lot of people with that one.

“Because our view is that money never should have been taken out of your pockets. That’s because you paid more for everything you bought for the last three years because of inflation.”

The governor will have to work with the state Legislature to win support for her proposed budget.

Last Wednesday, New York’s minimum wage increased to $16.50 an hour in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County and to $15.50 an hour in all other parts of the state, according to the state Labor Department.

On Jan. 1, 2026, there will be another 50-cent increase, bringing the minimum wage to $17 and $16, depending on where you work in the state. Future increases will be tied to inflation.

“So, here’s the deal: Inflation goes up, your wages will go up,” Hochul said. “Think about that. You don’t have to go back to the collective bargaining table, you don’t have to go back to your employer. Your wages will go up automatically when inflation goes up.”

New York is the first state in the nation to require pregnant women to get paid time off for prenatal care and any pregnancy-related medical care. Pregnant workers in New York are eligible for an additional 20 hours of paid sick leave for pregnancy-related medical appointments, on top of their existing sick leave benefits.

“Starting this week,” Hochul said on Friday, “tens of thousands of New Yorkers, from home health care aides to hourly restaurant workers and countless others who do not have a salary they can count on, will no longer have to make the impossible choice between losing money in their paycheck and getting prenatal care for their babies.”

The elimination of insulin co-payments typically saves a diabetic about $1,200, the governor said.

“If you need insulin to survive — all of us have a family member, I guarantee it, who understands what this is all about — you shouldn’t have to break the bank to get your care,” the governor said.

The State of the State Address is scheduled for Jan. 14 at 1 p.m. in Hart Theater at The Egg, Empire State Plaza in Albany.

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