When Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled her state budget earlier this week, she made bolstering public safety a cornerstone.

"I will say it again and I will say it again and again,” she said. “Keeping New Yorkers safe is my number one priority."

The governor’s proposed 2025 state budget tackles a list of key issues: Retail theft, domestic violence, hate crimes and mental health.

Included are proposals state Assemblymember John McDonald said he supports in general, especially when it comes to mental health, retail theft and targeting entities involved in resale operations of stolen goods.

“Which as you know has been a concern of many in the Legislature, particularly myself,” he told Spectrum News 1.

The governor vetoed a bill he co-sponsored last year indented to crack down on the activity.

“I love the fact that we’re putting our money where our mouth is,” he said. “Forty million dollars for a dedicated unit in the state police, just as importantly to help district attorneys get in the field to capture these bad actors.”

As was a concern immediately following the State of the State address last week, McDonald has questions about how Democrats, especially in the Assembly, will react to certain aspects of the plan.

“It will be interesting to see how the legislative body will respond to increased penalties, especially for those who assault retail workers,” he said, adding that those who are victims of these types of crimes in particular need to be protected.

State Sen. Patrick Gallivan is the ranking member on the Crime Victims, Crime and Corrections Committee. He said he is encouraged by the direction the governor is heading, especially when it comes to addressing things like domestic violence.

“Her addressing that is a good thing,” he said. “Addressing problems brought on with those who have mental health issues is something we need to address, we’ve seen the proliferation of retail theft over the past few years."

What he thinks is missing? An acknowledgment of what he calls the state’s role in causing the problem and a clear plan to reverse New York’s shift in policy in recent years.

“To put it in simple terms, the changes in the bail laws that we saw, the changes in the discovery laws have had disastrous consequences,” he said.

Republicans in the Senate, including Gallivan, made similar feelings clear when unveiling their legislative agenda earlier this week which prioritizes among other things, reversing bail and discovery reform, reigning in spending, expanding school choice, and assisting veterans in their reacclimation process.