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Some lawmakers, including Mr. Gianaris, said there was little appetite among most Democratic lawmakers to alter the law, even as some moderate legislators, especially those in competitive districts on Long Island, have clamored for revisions.
State Senator Todd Kaminsky, a Democrat who lost his bid for district attorney of Nassau County last month after his Republican opponent attacked him relentlessly on the issue, said he supported giving judges more discretion in setting bail, though he acknowledged, “There’s no doubt it’s an uphill challenge to change the law.”
Time and again, Ms. Hochul has deftly declined to stake out positions on a number of politically charged issues that are considered priorities of the party’s left wing and could give Republicans ammunition to portray her as a member of her party’s most progressive factions.
She has, for example, avoided weighing in on housing legislation known as “good cause eviction” that has gained significant traction, with hearings scheduled in the State Senate this month, when the state’s eviction moratorium is set to expire. The legislation would give tenants a right to renew their leases in most cases and significantly limit how much landlords can increase rents each year.
The bill, often used by the left wing as a barometer to measure progressive credentials, is heavily opposed by the real estate industry and backed by Jumaane Williams, the New York City public advocate, who is facing off against Ms. Hochul in the gubernatorial primary.
Under pressure from the left to support the bill, Ms. Hochul said in November that she was “not going to be telegraphing my positions early on because otherwise it’s not a collaborative process.”
Ms. Hochul offered a similar noncommittal response when asked last month about the New York Health Act, which would create universal single-payer health coverage in the state, drastically altering the health care industry in New York. The bill faces serious hurdles, including opposition from public sector unions Ms. Hochul is trying to court, but it has enough Democratic co-sponsors to pass both houses.