New York progressive lawmakers are protesting Gov. Kathy Hochul's bail reform plan, Politico reported.
Hochul's 10-point public safety plan, which was obtained by the New York Post last week, includes a measure that would give judges more discretion to order bail and detain criminal defendants for various additional crimes based on their criminal history, including repeat offenders.
Albany lawmakers who oppose changes to the state's bail laws protested Monday with a "Hell No, Cuomo 2.0" chant in the Capitol, Politico reported.
"Up until last week, I thought there was a difference between former Gov. [Andrew] Cuomo and our current governor," state Sen. Jabari Brisport, D-Brooklyn, said. "I will not vote for any budget that has rollbacks."
Assembly member Latrice Walker, a Brooklyn Democrat, threatened a hunger strike to prevent any of Hochul's proposals from making it into the budget, which is due March 31. Walker helped craft the initial 2019 bail reforms.
Hochul, D-N.Y., while appearing at a COVID-19 press conference, refused to discuss her 10-point plan in more detail. However, she said the document obtained by the Post was meant to be shared with legislative leadership and her office was not responsible for any leaks.
"I actually know how to get something to the press," Hochul said, Politico reported. "If I want to, I'll just hand it to somebody. We didn't do that."
Several Democrats told Politico that at least some of Hochul's proposals were nonstarters within their conferences.
"I have 10 days to work that out," Hochul said, Politico reported. "I didn't sign up for this job because it was easy … this is not the first time I've had the opportunity to negotiate and work with individuals. I know how to bring people together."
The Post on Thursday reported that Hochul's plan said that "for offenses that are not currently subject to arrest, police will have the ability (though not the requirement) to deny a Desk Appearance Ticket (DAT) and arrest an individual who has previously received a DAT within eighteen months. All second offenses within a certain period of time will be bail-eligible."
"The statute will set forth specific criteria on which judges will base their determinations, including criminal history and history of firearm use/possession," the plan said, according to the Post.
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