Wednesday, October 21, 2026
State Sen. Steve Rhoads spent his first two years in Albany learning the ropes of the Senate — and adjusting to a role in a minority caucus. After winning the 5th Senate District seat in 2022, Rhoads transitioned from the Nassau County Legislature, where Republicans held the majority, to a chamber controlled by Democrats.
“Being in the minority of the State Senate is a different dynamic,” Rhoads told Herald reporters at a recent roundtable interview.
Now, as he ends his second full term and his fourth year of advocating on behalf of his constituents, Rhoads said, “It was nice to be able to capitalize on what I learned.
“There are issues that we can’t compromise on,” he added of working across the aisle, “but my job is to try and find areas of common ground and to work together.”
Among those bipartisan successes, Rhoads said he was especially proud of the state’s efforts to protect children online. The Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation for Kids Act, which had its final rules unveiled in July, aims to regulate social media algorithms and prevent minors from being served addictive feeds.
Rhoads is also working with Sen. Jeremy Cooney, a Democrat from Monroe County, on legislation that would offer volunteer first responders three free credits per semester at SUNY and CUNY colleges. The measure expands on an initiative Rhoads helped create in the County Legislature.
Of course, there are areas of disagreement. Rhoads has been critical of what he feels is overspending in the state budget, which he said has grown by 65 percent over the past eight years. Medicaid benefits account for a large chunk of state spending plan — a system that has not been audited to determine whether all who receive benefits still belong in the program.
“How do you not look at that?” Rhoads said. “It seems as though the solution is always: We’re just going to increase the budget. We need to be doing something to control costs.”
One of his proposals to rein in state spending, he said, is a bill thath would restore a 2 percent cap on the growth of state spending. Rhoads argued that the measure, supported by the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakmean, would not mandate cuts to existing programs, but would instead slow the rate at which state spending increases each year. By keeping budget growth in check, Rhoads said, economic growth could help generate enough revenue over time to support what he described as a major personal income tax cut.
Among concerns he hears about from residents, affordability and crime remain at the top of the list. Rhoads has long opposed cashless bail policies, which can make it harder for judges to keep people accused of certain crimes in jail before trial.
“It’s lower-level crimes, and allowing those to happen sort of sets the stage for larger crimes to take place,” he said. “That’s the major complaint I get.”
Ultimately, Rhoads said, “You’re not going to be able to change what comes out of Albany until you change who’s in charge,” but he is hopeful, he added, about progress in his next term if he wins re-election in November.
“For me, it’s not about Republicans and Democrats at this point,” he said. “It’s sort of a difference between common sense and chaos.”
