Hochul's 30-day budget amendments: prison closures, body cameras, State Ed

Here's what I found in the newly released legislation.

Good morning — it’s Friday and Language Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• Gov. Kathy Hochul’s amendments to the state budget she proposed a month ago have dropped. I went through them so you don’t have to.

• Some of what’s inside: permission to close prisons, a transfer of physician oversight from State Ed, Harriet Tubman and more.

• Eyes & Ears: What else you missed from the week.

• New Bills of Note: Special election voting, vaccines and ethics in the Legislature.

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Hochul’s budget presentation in January (Lori Van Buren/Times Union)

🔎 Hochul’s 30-day budget amendments include stronger prison oversight and closures

It’s been a very long week so I wanted to get this out to you all early today.

Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled her executive budget proposal one month ago today. That means it’s time for her 30-day budget amendments, which are just changes to her original plan.

Those amendments were released Thursday night and first reported by CapCon. If you’re a paid CapCon subscriber, you got that news straight to your email last night.

Let’s get right into what’s in there, including five potential prison closings, a stronger Commission on Correction, a Harriet Tubman statue in Washington, D.C., and more.

These are in no particular order and don’t include every change found in Hochul’s new budget legislation. Some changes are technical and don’t make a difference.

1. Prison closures