The speech included what will likely be several coming flashpoints with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who was on hand for the governor's speech. | AP Photo In State of State speech, Cuomo vows to sue federal government over tax bill

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he would sue the federal government over the just-passed tax bill, proposed major changes to the state’s criminal justice system and introduced a suite of policies to combat sexual harassment in his annual State of the State address on Wednesday.

Cuomo, a Democrat positioning himself for a possible presidential bid in 2020, did not mention President Donald Trump until 90 minutes into his 92-minute speech, but said that the current Republican Congress and administration is “the most hostile and aggressive toward New York in history.” The governor has been sounding the alarm about the tax bill, which curtails the deductability of state and local taxes.


“They’re now robbing the blue states to pay for the red states … it is an economic civil war, and make no mistake, they are aiming to hurt us,” Cuomo said. “We believe it is illegal and we will challenge it in court as unconstitutional … the first federal double-taxation in history, violative of states’ rights and the principle of equal protection.”

The legal rationale for the suit still is not perfectly clear, and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has not commented on Cuomo’s public flirtation with a lawsuit. The governor also said he would lead a repeal and replace campaign against the bill, and in a written message said he would “launch a massive and complicated review” of the tax code to “create new opportunities for charitable contributions to support public programs.”

He said he may also shift the state from income taxes to a payroll tax, which would remain deductible against federal income. Details will be released later this month.

To combat “old challenges of discrimination and sexism,” Cuomo is proposing to prohibit confidentiality clauses in sexual harassment or assault settlements brokered by public entities, and hopes to standardize harassment and reporting processes. He would also require companies doing business with the state to disclose this information.

The governor is also proposing to eliminate cash bail for many lower-level offenses, saying in a written message that the current system is “disproportionately punishing those of limited means.” He would also make it easier for defense attorneys to learn about the cases against their clients and is proposing legislation to speed up trials.

“Our lady justice is still not color-blind and her scales are still not balanced,” Cuomo said. “Too often, if you can make bail, you are set free and if you are too poor, you are punished.”

The speech included what will likely be several coming flashpoints with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who was on hand for the governor's speech. Cuomo recognized Akeem Browder, the brother of Kalief Browder, a Bronx man who committed suicide after he was jailed for three years at Rikers Island. The governor suggested the state could regulate and perhaps shutter the facility, which de Blasio is closing on a slower timeline.

Cuomo also spoke, as he has in the past several years, of the growing problem of street homelessness. He said the state would regulate local efforts. That has been a point of contention — one among many — between the two men.

There was also a section in the speech about infrastructure development. Cuomo is directing the state to consider a tunnel under the Long Island Sound between Long island and either Westchester County or Connecticut — something he began studying two years ago.

There is also direction to study an extension of subway service to Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood, and an edict that the Department of Transportation consider replacing the I-81 viaduct through Syracuse with a tunnel. DOT engineers had rejected that possibility as too costly, but further study ordered last year by Cuomo showed that while it costs twice as much as other alternatives, it’s feasible. Cuomo has ordered it be reinserted back into the ongoing environmental review about the highway.

He also is proposing that the state Thruway Authority shift to cashless tolling, an idea that has been partially implemented and previously proposed. Cuomo framed it as a security issue. He also said he would accelerate the redevelopment of Penn Station, also because of security.

It’s unclear how much money — or new state money — is behind any of these proposals. The state faces a budget deficit of at least $4.4 billion. Cuomo will propose an executive budget on Jan. 16.

Other proposals regarding greater use of renewable energy, reducing student hunger, moving the New York Islanders to a new site in Nassau County and hearings about the elimination of a special minimum wage for tipped workers were pre-announced, piecemeal, over the last several weeks.

Cuomo finished with an optimistic note, listing some of the more prominent accomplishments from his first seven years in office and asking people to “stand up” if they benefited as a result. In a shift from last year, the governor thanked members of the Legislature, saying they understood how to rise above partisan concerns.

And then he turned, again, to the federal government. Most major Cuomo speeches end with the “family of New York” theme borrowed from his father, saying that the Empire State’s strength is its diversity. He often notes that the federal seal contains the Latin phrase “e pluribus unum," out of many, one.

In a break from last year, Cuomo then called out Trump by name.

“Our federal government is furthering the divisions. They govern by dividing,” Cuomo said. “It is [the] founding fathers' essential wisdom … that seal and those words are on the flag that is hung in the Oval Office every day. ... Right behind President Trump’s desk. To find a way forward … the president only needs to turn around.”