Before Governor Kathy Hochul released her proposal to once again alter New York’s 2019 criminal justice reforms, her office assured the public that it merely wanted to “clarify,” “streamline,” and “right-size” them.

After pushing through repeated rollbacks to the state’s controversial bail reform law in previous years, Hochul announced last month that she was targeting lesser known but critical reforms that overhauled the process, known as discovery, by which prosecutors must share evidence with the defense in criminal cases. Those reforms made it easier for defendants to see the full slate of evidence against them, giving them more information to build their cases and consider plea deals.

District attorneys — particularly those from New York City, where the reform contributed to a dramatic spike in discovery-related dismissals — have hailed Hochul’s proposal. They say it would keep the heart of discovery reform intact while ensuring that otherwise strong cases aren’t getting thrown out for discovery violations.

Public defenders, meanwhile, are sounding the alarm. They assert that the legislation would turn back the clock on key reforms and allow prosecutors to hold back evidence. They’re instead backing a proposal to give prosecutors direct access to certain police records for discovery purposes, hastening the process by cutting out an often obstructive middleman.

Tens of thousands of New Yorkers who rely on food assistance have filled up their shopping carts only to find their benefits drained at check-outs.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — formerly known as food stamps — has been a lifeline for needy New Yorkers at a time of increasing food insecurity. But it has also become a target for thieves, who use hidden skimming devices on card readers to steal millions in benefits.

A simple fix — upgrading magnetic-strip benefit cards with encrypted chip technology that has been standard in US credit and debit cards since 2015 — could significantly curb fraud, reducing the need for refunds. But congressional attempts to mandate a national switch have stalled, and it’s unclear whether such a measure would pass under a Trump administration that is likely to target SNAP for a massive overhaul.

Subscription-based companies, from gyms to streaming services to cell phone networks, are infamous for making it fiendishly difficult to quit. Some force subscribers to send cancellations through snail mail or to wait on hold for hours. Others hide cancellation buttons on their websites.

As part of her affordability agenda, Governor Kathy Hochul promised to crack down on this behavior by making it “just as easy to cancel a subscription as it was to sign up.”

But her plan contains a loophole that would exempt many of the major companies that offer subscription services.

Local social service representatives had stern words Thursday for the state agency overseeing HEAP, a heating assistance program that suddenly closed — and then reopened — last month.

“I really felt like the carpet was just ripped out from underneath us here,” Kira Pospesel, social services commissioner for Greene County, told state officials at an advisory council meeting for the Home Energy Assistance Program.

Affordability and the high cost of raising a family are key issues as campaign season heats up around the state, with mayoral elections this year and a governor’s election in 2026 that is likely to be competitive.

Child care is a sizable chunk of that cost. in 2023, for instance, infant care cost an average of about $20,500, according to a new state comptroller’s report. In recent years, New York has had the most expensive child care of any state except Massachusetts. Those high prices can create a substantial burden for parents, some of whom leave the workforce as a result.