Governor Hochul's Veto: When Albany Blocked Press Access
In 2025, both chambers of the New York legislature passed the Keep Police Radio Public Act, requiring press access to encrypted police communications. Governor Kathy Hochul vetoed it on December 19, 2025 — one day after the NYC Council passed its own press-access bill, which became Local Law 46 weeks later. The contrast is hard to miss.
Key Facts at a Glance
Background: NYPD goes dark
NYPD radio was publicly accessible starting in 1932—more than 90 years during which journalists used scanners to cover breaking news and independently verify official accounts.
On July 17, 2023, six Brooklyn North precinct frequencies went dark. Other boroughs followed, the Special Operations feed was cut in January 2025, and the roughly $390 million project—one of the largest police encryption efforts in the country—completed precinct-level encryption by early 2026.
The legislative response
New York legislators responded to the blackout with a bill to restore press access to encrypted police radio.
What the bill would have done
- Required New York law enforcement agencies to provide press access to encrypted communications
- Established a credential verification process for journalists
- Carved out narrow exceptions for sensitive tactical operations
- Applied statewide to all agencies
Legislative support
The bill passed both chambers of the state legislature. The New York City Council had previously voted 41-7 to preserve press access—a clear signal that elected officials, including those with direct oversight of the NYPD, were opposed to the department's approach.
The governor's veto
Hochul vetoed the bill. Her veto message cited three rationales:
"Public safety"
Hochul wrote that transparency is a "worthy goal" but could not "come at the expense of public safety," including concern that the bill would expose dispatches involving undercover officers. No department in New York—or nationally—has produced documented evidence of scanner-related officer harm.
Cost to local departments
The memo cited the expense for police departments across the state to build press-access mechanisms. Colorado agencies implemented comparable access under HB21-1250 without the predicted cost blowout.
Technological feasibility
Hochul questioned whether departments across the entire state could comply. Yet the bill exempted sensitive information, and agencies from Colorado to NYC's own Local Law 46 framework show workable models.
Press organizations push back
Press groups argued the governor's stated concerns were already addressed by the bill's language, which carved out sensitive information and limited access to emergency services organizations and professional journalists.
What encryption has done on the ground
These are not abstract concerns. Encryption's consequences were documented before Hochul's veto and continue now:
EMS coordination breakdown
Volunteer EMS workers report losing critical information. EMT Josiah Williams described an incident where "a Crown Heights kid was stabbed in a park, and it came to us as at a baseball field, but then we had to start looking for cops screaming. It turned out they were on a basketball court. With a critical patient, time is everything."
Journalism hampered
With Brooklyn, Staten Island, and the Bronx fully encrypted by 2025, photojournalists who covered breaking news off the scanner for decades described entire boroughs going dark — no one besides police knows what's happening on those streets in real time.
Interoperability undermined
Post-9/11 reforms pushed first responders toward interoperable communications. Volunteer EMS crews and other agencies say encryption now cuts them off from the police information they relied on to respond safely.
What this tells advocates in other states
Legislative passage is not the finish line
A governor can veto a bill with overwhelming legislative support. Building relationships with the executive branch in parallel with the legislative campaign is not optional.
Veto-proof margins change the math
A bill that passes with a bare majority can be stopped by one person. If the votes exist for an override, pursue them.
Law enforcement objections reach governors
Hochul's memo echoed law-enforcement concerns — cost, undercover safety, feasibility — that did not stop the City Council. Anticipate this and build counter-coalitions among first responders, EMS workers, and community groups.
Document everything
The EMS coordination failures and specific journalism harms provided concrete evidence for future fights. Every incident that encryption makes harder to cover should be recorded.
A veto is not the end
The bill can be reintroduced. Colorado's press access law took multiple sessions. NYC's own law was enacted within a month of Hochul's veto. There are multiple paths forward.
Weeks later: NYC acts
On January 17, 2026—less than a month after Hochul's veto—New York City's Int. 1460 was enacted as Local Law 46 without a mayoral signature.
Local Law 46: January 17, 2026
The NYC Council had passed Int. 1460-2025 on December 18, 2025—the day before the governor's veto. When Albany blocked the statewide version, the city's path was already underway. The law requires the NYPD to give credentialed journalists real-time radio access, with critical incidents broadcast on an unencrypted citywide channel.
What NYC's law requires:
- NYPD must provide real-time radio access to credentialed journalists
- Major incidents must be broadcast on an unencrypted citywide channel
- Full implementation is required within one year
What this means elsewhere
Cities in other states whose governors are blocking transparency legislation can act at the municipal level. The NYC Council's 41-7 vote proved that strong local support exists even where state-level action fails.
What's next for New York State
NYC has press access. The rest of New York still doesn't. Here is where the fight stands:
2026 legislative session
The bill can be reintroduced with NYC's implementation record as evidence that the approach works.
Local action upstate
Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and other cities can pass their own access requirements. They don't need Albany's permission.
Build the evidence base
As NYC's law takes effect, document what works and what the NYPD pushes back on. That record strengthens the case for statewide legislation.
Expand the coalition
The 14-organization New York Media Consortium is the base. More voices—especially from outside New York City—increase pressure on state legislators.
Sources
Take Action for Transparency
Your voice matters. Here are concrete ways to advocate for open police communications in your community.
Contact Your Representatives
Use our templates to email your local officials about police radio encryption policies.
Get StartedRead Case Studies
See how encryption has affected real communities - from Highland Park to Chicago.
View CasesSpread Awareness
Share evidence about police radio encryption with your network and community.
Public Testimony
Learn how to speak effectively at city council and public safety meetings.
Prepare to Speak