Hochul Outlines LGBTQ Initiatives in State of the State
New York’s leader vows to boost health funding, protect incarcerated trans folks
BY MATT TRACY
Governor Kathy Hochul’s
administration on January
5 unveiled a list
of LGBTQ initiatives as
part of her 2022 State of the State
agenda, including plans to address
conditions for incarcerated transgender
and non-binary individuals
and increase funding for queer-inclusive
health programs.
Hochul, entering her fi rst full
year in offi ce with a primary election
on the horizon, was short on
LGBTQ-specifi c talking points during
her State of the State speech at
the Capitol but fl eshed out her priorities
in the more in-depth State
of the State book.
Some of the LGBTQ-specifi c
goals outlined by Hochul aim to
build on existing efforts in need of
increased attention or resources,
while others involve new objectives
— such as proposed legislation
stipulating that incarcerated
people in state and local correctional
facilities be addressed in accordance
with their gender identity
and have access to commissary
items and clothing consistent with
their gender identity.
“The governor’s proposal will ensure
individualized and informed
placement of incarcerated people
that respects their gender identity
while also establishing measures
to protect the safety of incarcerated
individuals,” the State of the
State book noted.
Hochul also used the State of the
State to point out unfi nished business
surrounding the Gender Recognition
Act, which was approved
by the state last year and gave New
Yorkers the ability to update their
identifi cation and birth certifi cates
with an “x” gender designation and
scrapped an old rule requiring
people to publish name changes
in newspapers. The law, however,
does not require state agencies to
provide an “x” gender option for
folks who engage with the agency,
prompting Hochul to propose a
change to the law to require agencies
to offer that option.
The administration is also rolling
Governor Kathy Hochul delivers her fi rst State of the State speech in Albany on January 5.
out a new Hate and Bias Prevention
Unit within the Division of Human
Rights as part of a fresh campaign
to provide support to communities
impacted by hate and bias incidents
in the state. The unit will be
responsible for spearheading public
education and outreach and bringing
“coordinated, rapid, and community
focused” responses to hate
and bias incidents in New York.
Hochul is further looking to
beef up the state’s Division of Human
Rights in light of increased
caseloads in the agency due to the
gradual expansion of the scope of
the state’s human rights law (In
2019, for example, the state expanded
the human rights law to
protect students in public schools).
The administration also intends to
add domestic violence victim/survivor
status as a protected class in
housing, updating digital systems
to make it easier to submit and
process complaints virtually, and
including immigration and citizenship
status as protected classes.
Hochul also wants to make the
Division of Human Rights’ virtual
hearings permanent.
Another one of Hochul’s plans
calls for raising an existing $500
cap on the reimbursement rate
for essential personal property for
victims of hate crimes and other
forms of violence. The administration
to raise that cap — which has
not been updated since 1998 — to
HANS PENNINK/POOL VIA REUTERS
$2,500 to make up for infl ation.
On the health front, the governor
conveyed the need to increase
funding for the New York State
LGBT Health and Human Service
initiative and its network of organizations
after years of budget cuts.
Acknowledging the ongoing fi ght to
end AIDS in New York, the administration
vowed to support “direct
health services, cultural competency
education and training, and
organizational capacity building.”
When asked about more specifi c
numbers regarding proposals for
increased funding, a spokesperson
for the governor told Gay City News
that more information would be
available during Hochul’s budget
address later in the month.
Among other parts of Hochul’s
State of the State included a housing
plan to create 7,000 units of
supportive housing and save 3,000
units over fi ve years for vulnerable
and at-risk populations — including
people living with HIV/AIDS,
young adults who have been incarcerated,
and seniors.
Hochul also unveiled a proposal
to change the name of the state’s
Council on Women and Girls to the
Council on Gender Equity, refl ecting
an effort to be more inclusive
of transgender and non-binary individuals.
The Council on Gender
Equity would feature cabinet members
and community leaders with
the goal of elevating “the needs
POLITICS
of women, girls, and transgender
and gender non-conforming individuals,
focusing on underserved
populations and communities of
color,” the governor’s State of the
State book said.
To that end, the governor used
gender-neutral language in her
points about abortion, representing
another shift to be more inclusive
of transgender individuals who
have abortions. Hochul pitched legislation
to codify a policy requiring
private insurers to cover abortion
costs without cost-sharing.
Most out LGBTQ members of the
State Legislature voiced positive
feedback in response to Hochul’s
speech, though she received some
criticism from out gay State Senator
Jabari Brisport of Brooklyn,
who has embarked on a statewide
campaign to implement a universal
childcare system. Brisport described
the governor’s childcare
plan as “dramatically inadequate,”
but still said he’s “somewhat heartened
by the governor’s recent commitment
to working with me on ‘a
strategy that is going to be transformative,’
and I look forward to
meeting with her in the coming
weeks to attempt to do just that.”
Out gay Assemblymember Harry
Bronson of Rochester offered a
more upbeat reaction to the governor’s
speech, praising her for putting
forward “an ambitious healthcare
workforce agenda” and for her
pledge to increase availability of
COVID testing for families.
“I strongly believe everything
we do must be looked at through a
social, economic and racial justice
lens and this was, indeed, the overall,
welcomed tone of today’s State
of the State address,” Bronson said
in a written statement.
Out lesbian Assemblymember
Deborah Glick of Manhattan, the
fi rst out member of the State Legislature,
applauded the governor
from her Twitter account.
“@GovKathyHochul is planning
great changes and access to tuition
assistance for more folks,” Glick
wrote. “A commitment to higher ed
by our Governor has been a long
time coming — great news.”
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