Cuomo's legal bills paid for by taxpayers. Should they be?

And Eric Adams could face more charges, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Good afternoon — it’s Wednesday and National Pumpkin Seed Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• What Hochul thinks about taxpayers fronting the legal bills of N.Y. public officials

• The case against Eric Adams is expected to grow, prosecutors said Wednesday

• On The Bill: What if a terrorist targeted the MTA in New York City?

• Hochul signs more bills. Read about them and what’s left

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(New York Governor’s Office)

💵 What Hochul said about taxpayers funding Cuomo’s legal bills

Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has racked up more than $25 million in legal bills related to his defense against allegations of sexual misconduct while he was in office. Cuomo has denied those allegations.

That’s a lot of money. Here are a few things you could do with $25 million: buy 51 homes at New York’s median price, fly around the entire planet 6,944 times, or buy more than 7.8 million gallons of gasoline at the current national average.

Taxpayers are fronting that cost for Cuomo because they have to under state law. Section 17 of Article 2 of the state Public Officers Law requires the state to pay the legal bills for certain current and former public employees. So because Cuomo’s litigation rose from allegations made against him related to his time in office, the state must pay.

That might sound strange but it’s not in New York. Taxpayers have helped fund the legal bills of former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin and former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, for example, albeit at a much smaller amount.

What I found interesting Wednesday is how Gov. Kathy Hochul responded to a question on whether it’s good policy for taxpayers to foot the bill for Cuomo’s legal expenses.