New York's pandemic price gouging rules are finally here

And NYSED will soon publish a report on Hochul's universal pre-K plan.

Good afternoon — It’s Thursday and Puzzle Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• New York has finalized key regulations spurred during the coronavirus pandemic to crack down on price gouging during emergencies, five years later.

• The state Education Department has prepared a report identifying barriers to universal pre-K in New York to aid Hochul and lawmakers.

• The agency is also proposing a new way to review teacher preparation programs and another state office is seeking new rules on temporary housing in hotels.

• While Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to expand pilot programs for autonomous vehicles, a new bill seeks to restrict them.

Names in today’s CapCon: Kathy Hochul, Betty A. Rosa, Ed Ra, Dean Murray, Sarah Clark, Letitia James

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State Education Commissioner Betty A. Rosa (Will Waldron/Times Union)

✏️ NYSED preparing report identifying barriers to Hochul’s universal pre-K plan

One of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s most prominent priorities this year is her commitment to fund universal access to pre-K statewide as a means of providing child care.

Hochul is proposing an additional $561 million in this year’s state budget to meet that goal and wants to spend at least $10,000 for every child who enrolls in their district’s pre-K program.

But for many districts that don’t offer pre-K, that money may not allow them to start a program by this fall because of barriers that exist to serving those children. Those barriers are already being identified by the state Education Department.

State Education Commissioner Betty A. Rosa said during the state budget hearing on elementary and secondary education Thursday that her agency has drafted a report to help identify those hurdles and provide recommendations on how to clear them.

They’ve been working on it in consultation with the state Office of Children and Family Services, said Rosa, who supports Hochul’s plan.

“So our report … which should be out shortly, we will share with the Legislature in terms of barriers, recommendations and the way we hope to address this issue, this very important issue in terms of building the foundation,” Rosa said.

Lawmakers shared a handful of concerns with Rosa about Hochul’s proposal, which they said they didn’t necessarily oppose. But each district that doesn’t already provide universal pre-K will face challenges, they said.