With help from Jason Beeferman

More than two million criminal records will be sealed in New York under a law set to be approved later today by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Known as the Clean Slate Act, the long-sought measure is the latest criminal justice law change to pass in Albany and one some Democrats are nervous will be deployed by Republicans in closely watched elections next year.

Republicans have already indicated public safety and crime will once again be a major theme for their candidates in 2024 after the controversies over the law curtailing cash bail requirements became a frequent cudgel last year for GOP candidates, including former Rep. Lee Zeldin in the gubernatorial race.

Polls have shown crime concerns remain potent in suburban communities, especially on Long Island, where a resurgent Republican Party has racked up victories.

“The issue is not going away,” former Democratic Nassau County Executive Laura Curran told Playbook in an interview. “The Republicans in Nassau County are very good at message discipline. They’re very good at blaming Democrats.”

Curran likens herself to a “canary in the coal mine” for the crime issue that plagued Democrats after she lost her reelection bid in 2021 to Republican Bruce Blakeman.

Curran believes Democrats running in key House races next year need to separate themselves from Albany. At least two House seats held by Republican Reps. Anthony D’Esposito and George Santos on Long Island are believed to be competitive next year.

“Show how you’re different,” she said.

Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic consultant who has warned against embracing progressive criminal justice causes, agreed.

“They’re going to vote against people who supported those measures,” he said.

Still, not all Democrats bore the brunt of the criminal justice criticism. Democrats in the state Legislature maintain supermajorities in the Assembly and Senate.

“It’s severely overstated,” Queens Democratic Sen. Mike Gianaris said of the potential political fallout. “In my time dealing with campaigns, Republicans always try to find the issue in which they scare the most people. With the state Senate, it’s never worked.”

And the records-sealing bill itself will not include serious criminal convictions like murder and sex crimes — safeguards supporters have said will reduce concerns over public safety. A person’s felony records would be sealed eight years after conviction or release from prison; three years for a misdemeanor. A clean record must be maintained to qualify.

Supporters have also argued sealing criminal records will help people who have paid their debt to society find housing and jobs and aid employers in filling positions.

State Democratic Committee Chair Jay Jacobs, who has been critical of the bail law and at odds with progressives within the party, expects the records-sealing measure to be received differently by New York voters.

“I think it’s going to be very different and much more positive,” Jacobs told Playbook.

Support from prominent leaders in the business community, including the Partnership for New York City and The Business Council of New York State, could also inoculate Democrats against Republican attacks.

“I don’t think this is going to be the same thing,” Jacobs said. “This is a whole different issue.” — Nick Reisman

IT’S THURSDAY. Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.

WHERE’S KATHY? Signing legislation in Brooklyn.

WHERE’S ERIC? Going to a ribbon cutting for an EmblemHealth Neighborhood Care site, holding an adult town hall and speaking at the Edmond J. Safra Synagogue.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “This is a blatant attempt to overturn a fair map in New York state” — former Rep. John Faso on arguments Wednesday by Democrats in Buffalo before the Court of Appeals to create new House lines in 2024.

THE DEEP STATE DEFENSE: Mayor Eric Adams’ defenders are adopting the same rhetoric as former President Donald Trump as they try to politically insulate the Democrat from a federal investigation, POLITICO reports.

“I’ve been telling other people that I thought this was a witch hunt and the FBI’s going too far,” state Sen. Leroy Comrie said.

Surrogates and the mayor’s political team say the mayor is being unfairly targeted. The messaging seems destined to reach his base, including key Black and Latino voting blocs in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.

“I can also attest that Black leaders in politics often face more scrutiny and criticism,” Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn said.

Republicans also saw Adams’ side, including those with no particular ties to the mayor.

“That should concern all of us — this kind of weaponization of the justice system,” said Rep. Brandon Williams, a Syracuse-area Republican who has supported Trump.

Federal authorities are probing whether Adams’ 2021 campaign colluded with the Turkish government. The mayor has not been charged or accused of wrongdoing and has stressed he is fully cooperating with the investigation. — Jeff Coltin and Joe Anuta

More on Adams and his campaign:

— The Adams administration staffer who allegedly “acted improperly” amid the federal corruption probe is Rana Abbasova, a longtime aide who has been placed on leave. (New York Post)

— Winnie Greco, Adams’ longtime link to growing Asian communities, demanded donations for Gracie Mansion access and pressured a city employee to work in her own home. (The City)

— Since Adams reached out to the FDNY over safety issues at the Turkish consulate in 2021, the building has been operating with a temporary occupancy certificate. (New York Daily News)

BUDGET PAIN: The updated city budget set to be announced today will total $110.5 billion, a $3.4 billion increase from the spending plan adopted in June, Playbook has learned.

And it’s marked by dramatic cuts to NYPD hiring, CUNY support, early education seats, library programming, a critical city jobs initiative, migrant services and much more, people briefed on the modifications told Playbook.

“It’s shocking,” one person said.

“Unlike Covid, the cavalry isn’t coming,” another person said.

Union leaders representing those most impacted similarly responded with hurt and anger.

“It’s confounding to see Mayor Adams, a two-time CUNY graduate who calls himself ‘the CUNY Mayor,’ take a hatchet to the CUNY budget again with this 5 percent mid-year cut,” James Davis, president of the Professional Staff Congress, told Playbook. “I guess no one should be surprised because since he took office, Mayor Adams has undermined CUNY at every opportunity.”

In response to a freeze on NYPD hiring for the foreseeable future, Police Benevolent Association president Patrick Hendry said in a statement, “Our police officers are being worked to exhaustion, and 911 response times are already rising. What is going to happen when no reinforcements arrive for months on end?”

The mayor has long warned that the cost of sheltering migrants will be felt elsewhere, describing the so-called November financial plan as “extremely painful.”

Asked about NYPD cuts, Adams vowed on CBS New York, “I’m not going to do anything that’s going to impact public safety.” — Emily Ngo

More from the city:

— Public school enrollment is up for the first time in eight years, fueled by a record number of migrants entering the classrooms. (POLITICO Pro)

— The City Council approved legislation to spread housing production more equitably across the five boroughs by setting growth targets. (POLITICO Pro)

— Citi Bike has become less reliable since ride-hail company Lyft took over, and now Comptroller Brad Lander is calling for an overhaul of the city’s contract. (Gothamist)

KIM CHALLENGE: Yi Andy Chen, who finished a close second in a 2021 New York City Council race to Shekar Krishnan, filed Wednesday to challenge Queens Assemblymember Ron Kim in the 2024 Democratic primary.

“A lot of local nonprofit leaders, he’s really pissed off,” Chen told Playbook at the Somos conference last week.

Kim has raged against the outsourcing of government services to nonprofits for years. Kim has also publicly accused one of the state’s most powerful, Democratic Party-aligned unions, 1199 SEIU, of hurting low-income home health aides. Chen said unions are interested in supporting him, but a spokesperson for 1199 declined to comment.

Kim has held the Flushing, Queens, seat for a decade, but he’s on politically shaky ground. He narrowly won his 2022 primary against Kenneth Chiu, 51 percent to 49 percent, and eked out the general election versus Sharon Liao by a similar margin.

Kim said Chen is shopping for districts; Chen says he moved to Flushing from Elmhurst last year. And Kim brought up that one of Chen’s opponents accused him of absentee ballot fraud in his council race. Chen said he was accused because he was the first serious Chinese American candidate running in the district and he was never investigated.

“So I think any run would get scrutiny,” Kim said. “But it’s democracy, and everyone can run that wants to.” — Jeff Coltin

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Dutchess County Legislator Yvette Valdés Smith is set to run for a Poughkeepsie-area state Senate seat held by Republican incumbent Rob Rolison.

She’s launching her campaign with the backing of the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm as well as labor unions like the Communications Workers of America and the New York State United Teachers.

“Our residents deserve a representative who will stand up for women’s health rights, work to prevent gun violence, and invest in working families,” Valdés Smith said in a statement to Playbook.

The Hudson Valley is expected to be a hotbed of competitive races next year as Democrats seek to flip two House seats held by Republicans Marc Molinaro and Mike Lawler.

At the same time, the party saw success in the region during the off-cycle elections this month.

“The 2023 elections showed the Hudson Valley is continuing to trend in a positive direction for Democrats,” Queens Democratic Sen. Mike Gianaris said in an interview. “Our success over the last decade has been when we’ve had good local officeholders and roots with Democratic constituencies.”

In a statement released by his campaign, Rolison signaled he’s focused on his day job.

“Rob Rolison’s focus remains where it’s been since day one: tirelessly working in a bipartisan way to deliver results for our hardworking Hudson Valley residents. Cleaning up the mess Albany made is a full-time job, and Senator Rolison is committed to seeing it through no matter what,” Rolison’s chief of staff Dain Pascocello said. — Nick Reisman

More from Albany:

— New York AG Tish James sued PepsiCo over plastic waste pollution. (POLITICO Pro)

— Nearly 900 bills are awaiting Hochul’s signature as the year draws to a close. (City & State)

— The state’s top court heard oral arguments in a case that could result in the state’s congressional maps getting redrawn — again — in a way more favorable to Democrats (POLITICO)

— The House Ethics Committee’s report on Rep. George Santos will be out by the end of the week, and while it won’t formally recommend a course of action, its chair expects another expulsion vote. (POLITICO)

— Amtrak service between New York City and Albany is expected to be fully restored today. (LoHud)

— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s request to have an upstate New York man pay $65,000 for her home security fence after he was convicted of sending her threatening voicemails was denied. (AP)

MEDIAWATCH — Ben Smith: “Farhad Manjoo @fmanjoo leaving the New York Times, per an internal note from opinion editor” to which Manjoo replied: “it’s true. ran out of column ideas”.

OUT AND ABOUT — The Coalition for Asian American Children and Families raised over $340,000 at its 2023 Catalyst for Change Gala Tuesday night at Tribeca 360, honoring former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and entrepreneur June Kwan.

SPOTTED: City Comptroller Brad Lander, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, state Sen. Brian Kavanaugh, City Council members Shekar Krishnan and Linda Lee, Yuh-Line Niou and, via video, AG Letitia James. (Niou Pic)

— The Fund for American Studies hosted its 30th annual journalism awards dinner Tuesday at the Metropolitan Club of New York. Fox News Correspondent Benjamin Hall was honored by his colleague Lucas Tomlinson. Also attending: Greg Headen, Maryam Jimenez and Dr. Janette Nesheiwat.

— Business Council for International Understanding’s Dwight D. Eisenhower Global Awards Gala Monday honored Jane Fraser, CEO of Citi and Chow Kiat Lim, CEO of GIC. SPOTTED: Andrew Liveris, Larry Fink, Arianna Huffington, Hank Paulson, Julie Monaco, Bill Bradley, Jim Nevels, Ronald Lauder, Nelson Cunningham, Sarah Morgenthau, Peter Tichansky and Josette Sheeran.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Jay Newton-Small … David Peikin of Bloomberg Industry Group … Economic Innovation Group’s John Lettieri … Elizabeth Drew … CNN’s Fredreka Schouten … Alexandra I. Goodwin … Timothy R. Lowery … Jillian Rogers … Minda Conroe, managing director at J Strategies … Caroline Isabel Emch

(WAS WEDNESDAY): Michael Gottlieb ... Carey Wolchok

— New York City Council set new goals for housing, but did not move forward with a separate housing plan championed by Mayor Adams. (Crain’s New York Business)

— Reese Witherspoon’s son has a stunning West Village college apartment. Some think that makes him a ‘nepo-baby.’ (New York Post)