It will take time for New York officials to work through the details of any changes to New York's criminal justice system, including the state's bail laws, Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday said. 

And the debate over how to do so could last through the budget process due to conclude at the end of March, she said. 

"We need time to work out details, but my priority is to make New Yorkers as safe as we can," Hochul said. "Public safety is paramount and balancing that with needs to make sure we truly do have a fair and just system of governance. I believe we will achieve those goals, we need the time to get through the budget process, to look at these initiatives, but it is top of mind for all of us." 

Hochul's comments came at an event in Troy as New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a prominent voice for chanigng New York's bails laws, was on the other side of the Hudson River in Albany to meet with state lawmakers. 

Adams has called for allowing judges to determine whether a person who has been previously convicted of a violent crime to be remanded to a local jail — adding a dangerousness standard that is not included in the current law that had largely curtailed cash bail requirements for many criminal charges. 

The governor won't be meeting with Adams while he is in Albany, and Hochul said his trip on Monday was largely to meet with lawmakers. Top Democratic officials in the Legislature have been opposed to making changes to the laws. 

Proponents of the existing bail law have argued the dangerousness standard can penalize defendants based on race, and undermines the initial intent of ending cash bail in the state. 

But rising violent crime rates in New York and across the country have spurred calls for bolster public safety. 

Hochul has previously called for efforts to tackle gun violence, including a mutli-jurisidictional task force to combat the flow of illegal weapons into New York.