bail reform

The recently passed NYS budget includes changes to bail reform. Onondaga County District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick is concerned the changes will not keep streets safe.

The New York state budget remains hung up over differences between Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Legislature on changes to the state's bail reform laws.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has said she prefers the right budget to an on-time budget, appears ready to dig in her heels to get enough Democrats on board to win passage of the latest bail law changes. In 2022, the budget was nine days late as the governor held out for previous changes to the law.

The governor, in her State of the State message, proposed revisions to the law to make it easier for judges to set bail for more “serious crimes.”

The state's bail reform laws have become an issue in the governor’s race in New York in recent days, as Republican candidate Lee Zeldin calls for repealing the state’s bail reform laws, and Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul says she and the Legislature already revised the laws in the state budget.

Gov. Kathy Hochul says she's in the "right place" with her plan to change the state's bail reform laws and predicts some elements of the proposal will be in the final state budget.

Controversy surrounds Gov. Kathy Hochul's 10-point memo to change the landmark 2019 laws.

An attempt by Gov. Kathy Hochul to calm tensions over the state's rising crime rate and bail reform laws is having the opposite effect.

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposal to roll back portions of the state’s landmark bail reform laws were the subject of an angry rally at the State Capitol Monday, with some speakers comparing the plan to other civil rights setbacks, including the creation of Jim Crow laws in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Gov. Kathy Hochul says she expects to convince the state legislature to add non spending related policies to the state budget, which could include revisions to the state's bail reform laws.