New York governor vetoes two child care bills and modifies a third, frustrating advocates

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has vetoed two bipartisan child care bills aimed at improving access and modified a third. Advocates expressed frustration, noting that the governor's budget proposal for 2025 lacked significant child care initiatives. One vetoed bill sought to eliminate a minimum earnings requirement for assistance, while another aimed to decouple aid from parents' exact working hours. Hochul cited costs as the reason for her vetoes, suggesting these issues could be revisited in the budget process. The only bill to pass allows families to be presumed eligible for child care assistance before their paperwork is complete. However, the governor amended it to allow counties to opt in, rather than making it a statewide requirement.