Hochul teases State of the State protest buffer zones proposal

And New York plans to sue the Trump administration over child care funding.

Good afternoon — It’s Tuesday and Bean Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• Hochul teased a second proposal in her State of the State next week that would create protest buffer zones for houses of worship.

• New York plans to sue the Trump administration if it follows through with freezing child care funding over claims of fraud.

• Hochul and the state Department of Environmental Conservation are not happy about Constitution Pipeline’s new plan.

• Which lawmakers saw the most passed bills and vetoes in 2025?

• U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman is engaged in a war of words, and endorsements, with his primary challenger, former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander.

• A new bill seeks to revisit the START-UP NY program. Another wants to give courts more jurisdiction over coercive control.

Names in today’s CapCon: Kathy Hochul, Micah Lasher, Sam Sutton, Zohran Mamdani, Donald J. Trump, Peter Harckham, Amy Paulin, Shelley B. Mayer, James Skoufis, Robert Jackson, Brad Lander, Dan Goldman, Hakeem Jeffries, Donald Trump Jr., Lauren Hitt, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Marianne Buttenschon, Julia Salazar, Rachel May

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Hochul on Tuesday (New York Governor’s Office)

🗣️ Hochul says her State of the State will include buffer zones for houses of worship

Gov. Kathy Hochul is folding a policy first proposed by two members of the state Legislature in response to a protest in late November into her State of the State.

That protest was held in opposition to Israel’s actions in Gaza outside a New York City synagogue as members entered the building. The incident outraged several elected officials, who viewed it as antisemitic harassment.

Two of those lawmakers were Assemblyman Micah Lasher and state Sen. Sam Sutton, both Democrats. Lasher is running for Congress this year.

They introduced a bill shortly after the protest that would create a 25-ft. buffer zone around places of worship where demonstrations would be prohibited. Protesting within the buffer zone would be a misdemeanor.

The bill would create the same kind of buffer zone around health care facilities to deter harassment of individuals seeking reproductive health care.

Hochul did not mention Lasher by name but said during an event with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani Tuesday that she’ll be proposing the same thing next week as part of her State of the State.