Hochul says 'legalizing prostitution' won't happen in New York

And NYSED faces a new lawsuit over its Native American mascot ban.

Good afternoon — It’s Tuesday and Checkers Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• Is there momentum for legalizing prostitution in New York? Hochul addressed those claims Tuesday.

• The state Education Department is facing a new lawsuit over its Native American school mascot ban after a federal probe deemed it unlawful.

• Hochul dodged questions on whether state Democratic Chair Jay Jacobs should resign. This is not his first rodeo, even with Mamdani.

Names in today’s CapCon: Zohran Mamdani, Kathy Hochul, Phara Souffrant Forrest, Liz Krueger, Julia Salazar, Pamela Hunter, Jay Jacobs, Laure Gillen, India Walton

---

Hochul on Tuesday (New York Governor’s Office)

🗣️ Hochul says she’s ‘looking at legislation’ on prostitution

Prostitution happens in New York. That’s just a fact, according to data on arrests from the New York City Police Department.

There’s no indication that’s going to change either. That’s why some members of the state Legislature have tried, in recent years, to pass two bills related to the practice.

Neither of those bills would allow for a state-regulated industry of prostitution. But they differ in their intended results.

One has been used in the campaign for New York City mayor against the leading candidate, Zohran Mamdani, to frame him as a would-be architect of legal prostitution in the five boroughs. He said this week he doesn’t support that.

It’s also one of those things that would require state-level legislation if he did support it. Gov. Kathy Hochul said Tuesday that’s not on the table.

“We are not legalizing prostitution in the state of New York, full stop,” Hochul said. “We are looking at legislation but we are not supportive of letting people who are committing the crimes of setting up systems where we have prostitution running rampant.”

We don’t know what legislation Hochul was talking about but we do know which of the two competing bills Mamdani would prefer.

Mamdani is a co-sponsor of Cecilia’s Act for Rights in the Sex Trades, a bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Phara Souffrant Forrest and state Sen. Julia Salazar. It would decriminalize consensual sex work.

That means the people who sell or buy sex work would no longer be arrested — as long as it’s between two consenting adults. It’s like how marijuana possession was allowed before the regulated market came online in New York.

The bill would not repeal laws against human trafficking, coerced sex or acts involving minors. Those would remain the same.

The second bill, which Mamdani does not co-sponsor, is called the Sex Trade Survivors Justice and Equality Act. It takes a different approach and is targeted more at human trafficking.