ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday proposed giving judges more discretion to hold people on bail, hiring hundreds more prosecutors and state troopers, and expanding mental-health treatment — a multipronged initiative aimed at countering criticism over public safety that hounded her during last year’s election campaign.

Hochul, a Democrat, made the proposals during a wide-ranging State of the State address at the State Capitol.

Hochul proposed adding 1,000 more beds for patients in mental-health facilities and 3,500 housing units for New Yorkers with mental illness. Of the 147 proposals in Hochul's speech, this one received the longest and loudest applause from legislators in either political party. The initiative is tied to a push by New York Mayor Eric Adams to move homeless people with mental illness from the streets — which he has said will reduce crime.

Besides addressing public safety, Hochul also made significant proposals to boost education spending, raise college tuition, guarantee steady minimum wage increases, expand access to contraception and discount train tickets. Among the proposals:

• Increasing “Foundation Aid,” the largest category of state assistance for K-12 school districts, by $2.7 billion, or 13%. A hike had been guaranteed by lawmakers last year and this year’s bump is slightly smaller than the $4 billion in last year’s budget.
• Indexing minimum-wage increases to the consumer price index to ensure regular increases while capping the maximum...

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