Joshua Solomon is reporting for the Times Union the state of New York is soon expected to launch an Office of Gun Violence Prevention, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul's office. The governor's budget includes $500,000 for the initiative. Data collected on gun violence would be used by the office to "track emerging gun violence hotspots and deploy resources to those areas that need it most," according to the governor's budget book. The details are expected to take further shape at a meeting of the state's first-ever Interstate Task Force on Illegal Guns on January 26, in East Greenbush. The task force, led by State Police officials, is intended to help slow the spread of illegal guns into New York communities. New York City Mayor Eric Adams is expected to be in attendance. An illegal gun from Baltimore is believed to have been used by a 47-year-old Manhattan man to shoot two New York Police Department officers recently; both the officers and their assailant died. The state has also spent at least $144 million of the $159 million dedicated to the gun violence state of emergency. The remaining money has been promised to organizations and remains to be spent. The emergency was first declared by then-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in July, as the state was seeing an increase in violent crimes, especially those involving firearms. Following the shooting of the NYPD officers, Hochul released a statement that she had extended the state of emergency on gun violence, has offered a vision for the state's plans on gun violence moving forward, and offered her condolences. The governor also said the new task force would be convened in less than a week after the tragedy to discuss the pipeline of illegal guns and how neighboring states can work with each other. Read the full story in the Times Union.