Governor Kathy Hochul announces agreement reached for Fiscal Year, 2024 State Budget
ALBANY, NY- Although it’s nearly a month late, an agreement on the Fiscal Year 2024 State Budget was announced towards the end of last-week.
"I am pleased to have reached an agreement with Speaker Heastie and Leader Stewart-Cousins on a transformative budget that improves public safety, transforms our mental health care system, protects our climate and invests in our children's future,” Governor Kathy Hochul said.
"I promised New Yorkers we'd make our state more affordable, more livable and safer, and this budget delivers on that promise."
The budget was originally supposed to be passed by April 1, but lawmakers encountered trouble with compromising when it came to further modifications of bail reform and housing.
Although revisions for bail reform were passed, including providing judges greater discretion to set bail for serious crimes, numerous reports have surfaced that efforts to pass housing initiatives have failed this time around.
“This year's budget process, like so many others before it, lacked transparency and featured secret negotiations,” New York State Senator Joseph Griffo said.
Joe Griffo image.
“The governor said that it is better to get things right than to meet a deadline. It should be our objective to fulfill our responsibility to get it right and meet the deadline."
Read the Senator's full response below:
"Almost a month late, the governor announced that she and the legislative majorities have reached an agreement on a tentative budget.
During her announcement regarding this development, the governor said that she wants to make New York safer, more affordable and more livable. I am supportive of this goal and hope that this budget accomplishes this objective. However, I am concerned with the method and manner in which the governor has established the amount, type and where she would like to spend to achieve the priorities that she has identified.
New York has been under one-party control since 2019. Since then, we have seen an unfortunate pattern of tax increases, burdensome regulations and unsustainable spending. The state has spent an additional $85 billion during that time.
I continue to be concerned with how we got to this point. This year's budget process, like so many others before it, lacked transparency and featured secret negotiations. It will likely result in policy-laden bills debated and passed in the middle of the night while many New Yorkers are sleeping. Legislators should not see these bills right before they are required to vote on them. The public should have time to read, digest and give input on what has been decided for and will affect them.
The governor said that it is better to get things right than to meet a deadline. It should be our objective to fulfill our responsibility to get it right and meet the deadline."
Highlights of the budget include:
Improving public safety by providing judges greater discretion to set bail for serious crimes; investing $347 million in evidence-based gun violence prevention initiatives; $170 million to support the implementation of discovery reform for prosecutors and defenders, including $50 million in capital for discovery technology improvements in New York City; $92 million in aid for prosecution and defense funding across the state; and more than $66 million to increase the number of State Police academy classes and number of troopers dedicated to addressing serious crime.
Investing $1 billion in mental health - the largest investment in comprehensive mental health care in a generation - and transforming the continuum of care by increasing inpatient psychiatric treatment capacity, dramatically expanding outpatient services, and boosting insurance coverage.
Creating a stronger health care system for the future through an additional $1 billion in health care capital funding and expanded Medicaid coverage for more than 7.8 million low-income New Yorkers.
Protecting reproductive health care by investing $100.7 million to fund abortion providers, expanding access to abortion care for SUNY and CUNY students, providing access to over-the-counter contraception at pharmacies, enacting additional data protections for patients seeking reproductive health care, and increasing the Medicaid reimbursement rate for abortion care.
Record funding for P-12 schools and higher education, including the largest annual School Aid amount of $34.5 billion, full funding of Foundation Aid for the first time in history, reauthorizing 22 charters, including 14 in New York City, and $2.4 billion for new capital projects for SUNY and CUNY.
Implementing new comprehensive programs to ensure high-quality, affordable child care, including $500 million towards a Workforce Retention Grant Program and $25 million to support the Employer Child Care Tax Credit, and an expansion of the Child Tax Credit to include children under four years old.
Increasing the minimum wage for three years, after which the State's minimum wage would increase at a rate determined by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), giving hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who earn minimum wage a pay increase to keep with rising costs of living.
Supporting tenants, including residents of public and subsidized housing with rental arrears through a major investment in rental assistance for New York City Housing Authority and other public housing residents, as well as Section 8 voucher recipients and other subsidized housing residents through the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP).
Saving the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) from the "fiscal cliff" and securing long-term stability through adjusting the Payroll Mobility Tax for the largest businesses within New York City to 0.6 percent, generating approx. $1.1 billion; $300 million in one-time State aid; requiring New York City to contribute $165 million for paratransit services funding; $65 million to reduce the proposed fare increase on the MTA; expanding service frequencies on the subway and launching a pilot program providing five free bus routes in New York City to enhance the customer experience.
Combating climate change and investing in energy affordability by implementing first-in-the-nation zero-emission requirements for new building construction, and expanding the New York Power Authority's ability to support New York's climate goals.
Making New York a more competitive place to grow jobs and drive economic growth by expanding and enhancing the New York Film Tax Credit - one of the most stable film production incentive programs in the nation - which will provide a boost to New York's film industry, one of the largest union employers in the state.
Building infrastructure and capital projects across the State, including $1.7 billion for a new Department of Health research laboratory, $2.4 billion for transformation, maintenance and preservation projects at SUNY and CUNY campuses across the state, $446 million for Phase Three of the Hunts Point Interstate Access Improvement Project, $105 million to upgrade the State Emergency Operations Center, $51 million for Hudson Valley Bridge Rehabilitation and Replacements, and much more.
Supporting New Yorkers with disabilities by expanding the Medicaid Buy-In Program for working people with disabilities, funding and reinvigorating the Interagency Coordinating Council for Services to Persons who are Deaf, Deaf-Blind and Hard of Hearing and increasing the number of Civil Service Section 55-B positions to grow the representation of those with disabilities in the State workforce.
Expanding access and boosting demand for New York food and products while supporting farmers by increasing food manufacturing capabilities in the state; $10 million to support the establishment of farm markets, supermarkets and food cooperatives in underserved communities; and $50 million over five years to local school districts to support New York State farm products in meals for K-12 school children.
Expanding the enforcement powers of the Office of Cannabis Management and Department of Taxation and Finance to further grow the legal marketplace for cannabis, including levying fines on illegal retail operations and closing those shops down.
Supporting New York Seniors by funding programs statewide to support aging in place and to fight financial exploitation, elder abuse, and isolation of the aging, and increasing funding for the Master Plan for Aging (MPA), a comprehensive, interagency vision for seniors living in New York State.
Headline image via the office of New York State Governor Kathy Hochul.
