New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the first initiative of her 2025 State of the State plan: up to $500 in “inflation refunds” for New Yorkers dealing with spiking costs-of-living in the Empire State.
The proposal would take $3 billion in “excess” sales tax revenue that had been “driven by inflation” and return the money to nearly half of the state’s population.
Families making less than $300,000 would be eligible for $500, and individual taxpayers making less than $150,000 would receive $300 under the plan. The governor’s office said the announcement is one of several proposals aimed at lessening the burden on New Yorkers’ cost-of-living.
“Because of inflation, New York has generated unprecedented revenues through the sales tax — now, we’re returning that cash back to middle class families,” Hochul said in a statement Monday.
HOCHUL SPARKS BIPARTISAN OUTRAGE OVER CONGESTION PRICING REBOOT AS DEMS WORRIED TRUMP WOULD BLOCK IT
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“My agenda for the coming year will be laser-focused on putting money back in your pockets, and that starts with proposing Inflation Refund checks of up to $500 to help millions of hard-working New Yorkers.
“It’s simple: the cost of living is still too damn high, and New Yorkers deserve a break,” said Hochul, offering a sentiment similar to that repeated by perennial candidate and Rent is Too Damn High Party founder Jimmy McMillan.
However, New York Republicans were not as receptive to Hochul’s plan, as NYSGOP Communications Director David Laska told Fox News Digital the governor appeared simply out to make friends rather than bring about long-term relief.
“With her approval rating deep underwater, Kathy Hochul is resorting to bribing New Yorkers to like her,” Laska said.
HOMAN SCOFFS AT HOCHUL’S SUDDEN OUTRAGE OVER VIOLENT MIGRANTS
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“Handing out one-time checks won’t stop the crushing inflation Democrats’ policies have fueled – it will only add to it. New York needs real, permanent solutions: relief from our highest-in-the-nation tax burden and a rollback of job-killing regulations.”
New York City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli claimed that the $300 offered to middle- and low-income residents would still be less than what is spent on each migrant daily.
“[That] is not that backslapping win the governor thinks it is,” said Borelli, R-Staten Island.
Borelli added that the plan “looks increasingly silly” in the face of Hochul’s successful push for congestion pricing and her borrowing “costly energy cues from the Greta Thunberg School of Energy Policy.”
“Newsflash for Kathy Hochul,” added Rep. Michael Lawler, R-N.Y., “Taking thousands of dollars out of New Yorkers’ left pocket and then putting $500 in their right pocket isn’t a tax cut, it’s an insult.”
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State Sen. Rob Ortt, R-Niagara Falls, said that Democrats like Hochul continue to make New York State more expensive despite pleas for relief.
“The governor’s mindset is promising, however words are words,” said Ortt, the top Republican in the chamber.
New York state Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt, R-Niagara Falls.(REUTERS/Jeenah Moon)
Ortt claimed that it is his caucus that is the true voice for hardworking New Yorkers seeking “real affordability… not just one-shot gimmicks.”
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Meanwhile, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., said Albany needs to “stop treating New Yorkers like bottomless ATM machines” with their new tolls and tax hikes.
Malliotakis’ constituents now face an extra $9 “congestion” toll to enter Lower Manhattan, on top of an approximate $20 round-trip cost to commute on the state-owned Verrazzano Bridge.
“If she’d allow her constituents to keep more of their hard-earned money from the start, there would be no need for these ‘inflation refund’ checks to begin with.”
Hochul’s office estimated 8.6 million out of 19.5 million New Yorkers would benefit from the planned “refunds.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Hochul for further comment on the criticisms.
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Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.
Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.
Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.
Connecticut State Police and the Chief State’s Attorney have opened an investigation into former New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobsen and allegations that he misused public funds.
The City of New Haven reported the allegations to State’s Attorney John Doyle on Monday.
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said Monday Jacobson admitted to stealing money from a fund used by the New Haven Police Department to pay for an support its confidential informant program.
Several officers flagged irregularities in the account and notified the three assistant chiefs in the department, according to Elicker. It was then that the assistant chiefs confronted Jacobson on Monday morning.
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Elicker said after being confronted, Jacobson admitted to taking the funds. The assistant chiefs then notified Chief Administrative Officer Justin McCarthy, who then notified Elicker.
Jacobson was called in for a meeting with Elicker, where he was to be placed on administrative leave. Elicker said that before the meeting, Jacobson handed in his paperwork to retire, effective immediately.
The mayor was unable to share additional details on how much money was reportedly taken or for how long due to the ongoing investigation.
Assistant Chief David Zannelli has been appointed as the acting police chief.
State police will conduct the investigation and Chief State’s Attorney Patrick Griffin has appointed New Britain Judicial District State’s Attorney Christian Watson to oversee the investigation to avoid any potential conflicts of interest.
Residents of Bay Bridge Estates in Brunswick said that Tuesday was the day that their homes were being hooked up to the town’s water supply. (Daryn Slover/Staff Photographer)
A new state report offers a series of recommendations to expand existing mobile home parks in Maine and build new ones, allow homeowners to obtain traditional mortgages at more favorable rates and overhaul the state’s oversight of parks.
The 30-page report, written by the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future and mandated by legislation passed last year, is intended to be a blueprint for future proposals as lawmakers seek to protect the roughly 45,000 Maine residents who live in mobile home parks.
It will be presented to the Housing and Economic Development Committee this month.
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Mobile home parks in Maine and across the country — often considered the last form of unsubsidized affordable housing — are increasingly being purchased by out-of-state investors who raise the monthly lot rents, in some cases doubling or tripling prices, according to national data.
Park residents, often low-income families or seniors on a fixed income, own their homes but not the land they sit on and residents are essentially helpless against rent increases.
“If they’re forced to lose their housing because the rents get too high, it’s hard to see where they’d be able to go,” said Greg Payne, senior housing adviser for the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future.
The state is feverishly trying to build tens of thousands of housing units in the coming years, but Payne said in an interview it’s just as important to “protect the housing that we do have.”
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“If we lose any of our affordable housing stock, that’s going to make our challenge even greater,” he said.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR OWNERS, RESIDENTS
Many state officials would like to see more mom-and-pop or cooperatively owned manufactured housing communities, especially as the state tries to ramp up production.
But according to the report, the number of locally owned communities has been dwindling, and smaller owners and developers frequently struggle to increase available housing in their parks. Boosting supply could also help lower costs for existing residents.
As with all construction, it has gotten expensive.
“There are plenty of owners who I think would be willing to expand if the math worked,” Payne said. “If we’re able to help with that, it creates more units that we desperately need across the state and creates the opportunity to spread existing costs across more households.”
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The report recommends, among other things, making it easier for park owners to access MaineHousing construction loans, which state statute currently prohibits.
The office also suggested developing a subsidy program that would give owners a forgivable loan if they agree to charge income-restricted lot rents to income-restricted households.
‘TOO GOOD TO MISS’
The report also recommends allowing mobile home buyers to take out traditional mortgage loans.
Historically, loans for manufactured homes have been titled as personal property or “chattel” loans, similar to cars. These loans, according to the report, typically have shorter terms, higher interest rates, fewer lenders to choose from and inferior consumer protection.
Over the years, construction technology and government regulations have evolved and factory-built houses are now often comparable to site-built housing, according to the report.
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The price gap between the two is also narrowing, with many mobile homes selling for well over $200,000.
Payne said he spoke to an Old Orchard Beach resident whose interest rate is more than 11%, and is paying about $640 a month for a $60,000 loan, on top of her monthly lot rent. Comparatively, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac, the current interest rate on a 30-year mortgage is about 6.15%. That would save her hundreds of dollars a month.
“We don’t often have the opportunity to increase affordability and have nobody losing,” Payne said. “It’s an opportunity that could be too good to miss.”
‘SYSTEMIC LACK OF SUPPORT’
The report recommends an overhaul or “reimagining” of state regulation and oversight of mobile home communities to better serve residents.
Currently, the Maine Manufactured Housing Board is in charge of licensing and inspecting parks, while landlord and tenant issues and consumer protection claims are enforced by the Office of the Maine Attorney General or the court system.
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But according to the report there is a “systemic lack of support” from state government in addressing some of the more common problems in parks — poor living conditions, untenable community rules and fees, disregard of state laws — and attempts to get help from either agency often result in referrals elsewhere.
“This pattern of circular referrals, rarely leading to support, often leaves park residents feeling isolated and unheard,” the report says.
The office recommends that the Legislature transfer the responsibility for certification, technical assistance and regulatory coordination from the Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation, where the board is currently housed, to the Maine Office of Community Affairs,which would also serve as a “first call” for residents seeking assistance.
Compliance with state rules would be handled by the attorney general’s office, which may need to find ways to provide more legal support to homeowners.
Finally, the report recommends directing more private resources toward supporting a housing attorney at Pine Tree Legal Assistance who has expertise in mobile home park issues.
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LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS
Mobile home parks have been a hot-button issue in the last few Legislative sessions.
Lawmakers last year passed a series of bills designed to protect mobile homeowners, including one that gives park residents the “right of first refusal” if their community goes up for sale.
In addition to the recommendations outlined in the recent report, the state is seeking to collect more data about the state’s parks.
Historically, the Maine Manufactured Housing Board has not tracked whether the parks are owned by resident co-ops, out-of-state corporations or Maine-based operators. It also collected no information about how many lots are in each park, vacancies or average lot rents.
That information is now required in order to license a park.
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Another bill, which has resulted in confusion and some retaliatory rent increases, requires owners to provide 90 days written notice of a rent increase and establishes a process for residents to request mediation if the increase is more than the Consumer Price Index plus 1%. While owners are required by the new law to act in good faith, they are not prevented from moving forward with an increase.
Efforts to institute statewide rent control failed in the last session, in part due to Maine’s long history of local control, but many communities, including Brunswick, Saco and Sanford, have passed rent control measures or moratoriums on rent increases as they grapple with how to protect residents.
The state report includes a model rent stabilization ordinance for municipalities but no mandate.
Seatbelt usage in Massachusetts increased in 2025 for the third consecutive year, “marking the state’s highest seat belt usage rate on record,” officials said in a release this week.
The annual Massachusetts Safety Belt Observational Study found belt usage rate of 85.53 percent among the state’s drivers last year, up from 84.36 percent in 2024 and 80 percent in 2023, according to the Healey-Driscoll administration.
The increase in seatbelt usage last year corresponded with a lower rate of fatal crashes, with 342 reported in the state in 2025 compared to 364 in 2024, said a statement from the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security on Monday.
“We know that seat belts save lives, and it’s so important that seat belt usage continues to increase every year in Massachusetts,” said Governor Maura Healey, a Democrat, in the statement. “We’re grateful for the hard work of our partners in transportation, public safety and local governments to enhance safety on the roads for us all.”
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The governor’s words were echoed in the statement by her number two, Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll.
“Whether you’re a driver or passenger, one of the most important things you can do to protect your safety is to buckle your seat belt,” Driscoll said. “This study shows that we’ve made progress in increasing the safety of road users.”
The annual study is required by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, according to the statement, which said seat belt usage in Massachusetts has increased by more than 10 percent since 2015.
“Everyone has a role to play in keeping our roads safe, and wearing a seat belt is one of the simplest steps we can take to protect ourselves and the people we care about,” said Gina K. Kwon, the state’s public safety and security boss, in the release.
“When drivers and passengers buckle up every time, they help prevent serious injuries and make travel safer for families and communities across the Commonwealth,” Kwon said.
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Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.
