Press Releases

Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17) released the following statement after news broke that Governor Hochul was removing her overriding of home rule from her housing plan.

"For months, I've been calling on Governor Hochul to remove her ludicrous overriding of home rule from her housing plan and I'm glad to see she finally relented," said Rep. Lawler. "It was a misguided effort that would have forced municipalities into building additional housing units without proper environmental reviews, without any input from local government, and without any respect for the desires of municipalities and their citizens."

"Over the first 100 days of my term, I have been aggressive in addressing this issue, hosting roundtables and press conferences to highlight local, bipartisan opposition to Governor Hochul's plan," continued Rep. Lawler. "Over and over again, the refrain was the same - home rule and local control must not be superseded."

"I credit the Assembly and Senate for forcing Governor Hochul to change course and am thankful that at least some of our elected officials in New York State still value home rule," concluded Rep. Lawler. "It would be wise for Governor Hochul to listen to suburban voters, especially those in the Hudson Valley, who do not take kindly to burdensome state mandates like the housing plan she tried to force upon our region."

New York's 17th Congressional District is just north of New York City and contains all or parts of Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester County.