The New York state Senate Republican Conference on Wednesday unveiled “A New Hope For The Empire State,” their legislative agenda for 2024.

They say they are gearing their agenda toward issues that impact “everyday New Yorkers” while blasting Democratic policies they say have created safety and quality of life issues for the state.

Their agenda includes three key objectives:

Increasingaffordability

  • Reigning in out of control spending: enact a spending cap, rejecting tax increases and unfunded mandates, and providing tax relief for all New Yorkers
  • Taking action to help all New Yorkers struggling to make ends meet by rejecting extreme climate proposals, incentivizing new housing construction to deal with the housing shortage, and making child care more accessible and affordable
  • Improving the state’s business climate by protecting small businesses and farms by reducing regulations and unfair costs.

Improving public safety

  • Protecting New Yorkers from antisemitism and other hateful violence by making any antisemitic behavior a hate crime, making all hate crimes bail eligible, protecting hate crime victims and houses of worship, and implementing financial penalties on both college universities and students who condone or engage in antisemitic behavior while receiving state aid
  • Rejecting efforts to continue New York a sanctuary state status
  • Reversing failed criminal justice policies that have made our communities less safe, including bail reform, discovery reform, and others while rejecting policies that put criminals above victims and law-abiding New Yorkers
  • Providing more services and funding to address mental health crisis and substance abuse disorders

Building a greater New York

  • Closing the pandemic learning gap, expanding school choice, and further investing in vocational education and workforce development
  • Providing support to our veterans to reacclimate and find educational and career opportunities
  • Investing in and strengthening our infrastructure to encourage growth

“New Yorkers are deeply dissatisfied with the direction of our state and our Conference is here to provide an alternative path forward,” said Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt. “I have traveled throughout the state and people are tired, frustrated and angry. They feel forgotten. Over the course of the year we have seen crimes and costs rise. Antisemitism is infiltrating our schools and communities and has become the norm. The migrant crisis has only gotten worse because New York City politicians continue to push their feel good policies, but it is these radical policies that are driving New Yorkers out. As the Leader of this conference, I will not take a back seat to the progressive agenda destroying our state. Our Republican Conference will fight to give hope to those New Yorkers who feel they have no alternative but to leave our state. Our common sense agenda provides solutions to build a greater New York for future generations.”

In addressing public safety, Senate Republicans say they are concerned that the law enforcement community has their “hands tied” because of New York state policy.

“New Yorkers are all longing for accountability from our state government and searching for signs of hope that things will get better,” said state Sen. Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, R,C-Malverne. “Antisemitism, in particular, is running rampant not only on our streets, but also on our college campuses. Now more than ever, we owe it to our Jewish communities to ensure their safety. The lack of affordability and public safety continue to be problems impacting taxpayers, and it is because of these significant quality-of-life issues that New Yorkers feel forced to flee to other states. Our conference stands ready to advance an agenda that will bring our state back from the disaster that extreme policymaking has wrought upon us.”

They point to outmigration as evidence that many New Yorkers are unsatisfied with the state’s direction and are looking for a change.

“There can be no greater example that our beautiful state needs a dramatic course correction than the fact that over 101,000 people escaped from New York last year, leading the nation in out-migration of population, with over 631,000 people leaving the state since the pandemic,” said state Sen. Jim Tedisco, R,C-Saratoga Springs. “New Yorkers need and deserve a holistic agenda change in state government to stop the hemorrhaging by creating an environment that is conducive to making the Empire State more affordable, safer, and a place that enables opportunities for economic growth and protects people’s quality of life.”

Senate Republicans say more informaiton on their “A New Hope for the Empire State” 2024 legislative agenda will be unveiled in the coming weeks.