NYCLU On Passage of State Budget

ALBANY, NY — Following Governor Hochul and the State Legislature’s finalization of the state budget for FY 2026, the New York Civil Liberties Union released statements today on the overall budget and select provisions and exclusions:

NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman said, “At a time when New Yorkers are demanding bold and responsive leadership, Albany lawmakers closed the doors, made backroom budget deals that shut out the public, and circumvented proper process. This is no way to run New York. Worse yet, this year’s negotiations were based on fear, not facts, including discovery rollbacks, and expanding forced hospitalizations.

“While we are gratified to see some funding and reduced barriers for abortion care, funding for immigrant legal services, and important clarifications that allow homeless and young people to consent to their mental health care, lawmakers also cut a deal to decimate hard fought education standards at private religious schools. This budget, delayed and negotiated in secret, is far from the leadership this moment demands. Where are the humane values, the courage, and the commitment to open government that New Yorkers should be able to expect from their leaders? Our leaders must do more, now, to protect the rights of all New Yorkers.”

Expanding Involuntary Commitments

“The Governor is right that the status quo response to homelessness and serious mental health issues is untenable. But the change we need is not simply to lock more people away, especially those who pose no immediate threat to themselves or others,” said Director of Disability Justice Litigation Beth Haroules. “The new powers the Governor and Legislature enacted are unnecessary and counterproductive. Our existing law also already permits the imposition of restrictions on people who are struggling. Coercing people into mental health care is generally ineffective and does little to improve people’s mental health. Instead of pushing ill-conceived policies, our state officials should take steps to fix the mental health crisis in New York. This starts with seeing homeless people as people and providing more supportive housing, mental health services, and employment.”

Rolling Back Discovery Reform

“The Governor’s push for discovery rollbacks was based on misleading data and fearmongering rhetoric,” said Senior Policy Counsel Justin Harrison. “While the Legislature rejected the Governor’s worst ideas, changes to the discovery law were entirely unwarranted in the first place, and may encourage the sort of prosecutorial gamesmanship the 2019 reforms were implemented to cure. We urge our state officials to invest in solutions that work instead of weakening basic legal protections that exist for all New Yorkers.”

Criminalizing Masks

“After months of advocacy, we’ve successfully beat back the worst of this proposal — New York lawmakers said no to creating a new stop and frisk mechanism by rejecting an all-out mask ban, said Senior Policy Counsel Allie Bohm. “Though Governor Hochul’s insistence on creating a new crime if someone commits a felony or certain misdemeanors while concealing their identity still raises alarm bells and panders to the Trump agenda, lawmakers negotiated safeguards that will make this crime difficult to even charge. It is a victory for civil rights, public health, and free expression that masking—in and of itself—will not be a crime in New York.”

Undermining Education Standards

“No matter public or private, the State Education Department must have the authority to ensure all schools deliver a sound, basic education to New York’s children,” said Johanna Miller, Director of the Education Policy Center. “Democratic education is more important right now than ever. By rolling back substantial equivalence laws, the Governor is playing politics with children’s futures, undermining the right to education, and empowering isolationist religious factions to teach hundreds of thousands of children their own versions of the truth.”

Banning Cell Phones in Schools

“Governor Hochul’s bell to bell cellphone ban is not the gold star policy she thinks it is. Cell phone bans put students at risk of unnecessary punishment, do nothing to improve student mental health, and potentially violate students’ Fourth Amendment rights,” said Johanna Miller, Director of the Education Policy Center. “At a time when ICE is separating parents from families, children must be able to connect with their guardians in an emergency. Instead of shutting kids from all phone access, New York lawmakers should be empowering schools to create tailored cellphone use policies that work for their own communities and help kids learn responsible use. Classroom educators should be the ones determining cellphone use policies – not Albany lawmakers.”

Funding Abortion Care and Protecting Emergency Access

“This budget took important steps to ensure that abortion care is more accessible and protected in New York. With abortion access under existential threat, the timing couldn’t be more urgent,” said Senior Policy Counsel Allie Bohm. “We will continue to do everything we can to defend and expand New Yorkers’ rights to privacy, dignity, and critical health care.”