Officials in the Empire State have launched another round of deregulation aimed at removing outdated provisions from state law and cutting unnecessary red tape. Under the Express NY initiative, announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul in early 2026, 75 legal changes have been prepared covering areas including child care, nursing homes and affordable housing. Provisions related to the Year 2000 (Y2K) problem and old restrictions on the employment of women are also set to be removed from the state code.
Under the program, the state administration is using artificial intelligence to analyze about 18 million words contained in regulations and statutes. The review also involves state agencies, experts and residents. Its goal is to identify outdated regulations, administrative bodies that no longer exist, unnecessary fees and reporting requirements.
Among the latest proposals is eliminating the requirement for employees who change jobs or take substitute work to undergo a new background check and present a medical certificate. These requirements would still apply to new employees providing care services, and background checks of existing employees are to be conducted every five years. The plan also calls for expanding the list of college majors that qualify a person to work in child care, which is intended to increase the number of potential job candidates.
The administration also intends to strike provisions that have not been enforced for years but still appear in the state code. One example is a rule requiring restaurants to obtain a special permit to employ waitresses after midnight. Provisions tied to fears of computer failures during the transition to the year 2000 are also to be removed.
The governor’s team is already examining other areas that need changes, including permitting procedures. In the near future, officials plan to present reforms intended to speed up approval of housing and infrastructure projects.
Edited by JŁ
