Albany, N.Y. (WBEN/AP) - New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday announced the framework of a $237 billion budget that includes broad plans to drive new housing construction, address the influx of migrants and crack down on illegal marijuana shops.
Hochul, a Democrat, described the announcement as the “parameters of a conceptual agreement" on the budget, which is about two weeks late, that was struck with leaders of the state Senate and Assembly after a series of backroom negotiations.
“You can’t get to the legislature for consideration unless we have agreement on the package to go forth," Hochul told reporters at the Capitol, adding, "It takes a little time to get to the final resolution but I've explained what I feel there's agreement on."
Still, the governor's announcement appeared to have caught lawmakers off guard, with officials still in the process of holding meetings and working out the specifics of the spending plan.
“I think it was a surprise for all of us in the Senate,” said state Sen. Liz Krueger, a high-ranking Democrat.
The Senate and Assembly, both controlled by Democrats, would need to approve the budget before it could become law.
The housing deal outlined by Hochul would include a new tax break for developers to incentivize building and a set of tenant protections to make it harder to raise rents and evict people in certain cases, though specifics were not detailed. It also includes plans to use commercial properties and state lands for residential housing.
The sweeping housing agreement had become a sticking point in negotiations, with top officials moving to craft a deal that leads to more new, affordable homes while protecting tenants and luring developers to build.
The spending plan would also set aside $2.4 billion for the state to address numerous migrants who have overwhelmed New York City’s homeless shelters, following a proposal from Hochul to provide short-term shelter services, legal assistance and more.
And Hochul said there was an agreement on a new strategy to combat unlicensed marijuana storefronts, which have become ubiquitous in the city following the state's legalization of recreational weed sales, through a proposal to make it easier for local authorities to close the black market shops.
Budget highlights from a formal release from the New York Governor:
- Securing a historic agreement to address New York’s housing crisis by creating a new 485x tax incentive for affordable housing;
- Extending the 421a incentive for projects already in the pipeline;
- Making it easier to convert unused office space into affordable housing;
- Eliminating outdated density caps in New York City;
- Unlocking the potential of units that have been vacant since 2019;
- Establishing a new law to protect tenants from price gouging;
- Creating a statewide tax incentive for multi-family housing;
- Making $650 million in discretionary funds exclusively available to Pro-Housing Communities;
- Providing incentives for communities that want more accessory dwelling units;
- Investing $500 million to develop up to 15,000 new housing units on State-owned sites;
- Protecting homeowners from deed theft;
- Cracking down on retail theft by increasing penalties for offenders who assault retail workers;
- $40.2 million for retail theft enforcement;
- A $3,000 tax credit for business owners to invest in security resources;
- Shutting down illicit cannabis storefronts by authorizing the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) to padlock businesses for a full year;
- Allowing local governments to pass laws to execute padlock orders;
- Establishing fines for landlords knowingly renting to retailers selling cannabis without a license;
- Fighting the rising tide of hate by expanding the number of offenses that can be prosecuted as hate crimes and investing $35 million in the Securing Communities Against Hate Grant that protects houses of worship, religious schools and other at-risk sites;
- Improving public safety through targeted investments in communities, including $347 million to continue New York’s efforts to reduce and prevent gun violence and $35.7 million to prevent and prosecute crimes of domestic violence;
- Investing $7.1 million to reduce recidivism and improve reentry into the workforce by providing more intensive supervision of individuals on parole, expanding transitional housing opportunities, expanding college programming to all state prisons, and providing transportation for visitors to and from State Correctional Facilities;
- Making our streets safer with new efforts to fight toll evasion on our roads and fare evasion on our subways.
- Making record investments in mental health, including $19 million for mental health services for school aged children, $55 million to establish 200 new inpatient psychiatric beds at State-run facilities;
- Mandating better mental health care at hospitals. Investing $31 million to expand mental health services for first responders and for individuals struggling with mental illness who are involved in the criminal justice system.
- Maintaining our $3.9 billion commitment to support distressed hospitals and $20 billion multi-year investment to build new healthcare infrastructure, expand Medicare coverage for seniors and pregnant New Yorkers and increase the home care worker minimum wage;
- Protecting mothers and babies by becoming the first state in the nation to offer paid leave to expecting mothers;
- Requiring employers to provide time for nursing mothers to express; addressing the proliferation of surgical procedures in situations where they’re not necessary;
- Increasing access to care for postpartum depression.
- Securing $200 million in Medicaid savings through fiscal intermediaries and by cracking down on CDPAP fraud;
- Investing $7.5 billion in the health care system over the next three years through an amendment to New York’s Medicaid Section 1115 Demonstration program to support a comprehensive series of actions to advance health equity, reduce health disparities, and strengthen access to primary and behavioral health care across the state;
- Authorizing the State to pursue federal approval for a managed care organization (MCO) tax, which could generate significant revenue for the State to provide a multi-year investment in New York’s health care system;
- Investing $150 million to advance NY SWIMS and build pools across the state, helping New Yorkers learn to swim, and keeping them safe in and near the water;
- Supporting New York students through record funding for P-12 schools;
- Investing a record $35.9 billion in total school aid, including $24.9 billion in Foundation Aid;
- Lowering the inflation factor in the Foundation Aid formula to right-size funding for the 2024-25 school year and commissioning a Rockefeller Institute study to examine the Foundation Aid formula to prepare for changes next year;
- Ensuring every school district utilizes instructional best practices grounded in the Science of Reading to improve reading proficiency among New York kids;
- Advancing a Consumer Protection and Affordability agenda to reduce costs and keep money in New Yorkers’ pockets by eliminating cost-sharing for insulin for thousands of New Yorkers;
- Strengthening protections against unfair business practices;
- Achieving the largest increase in benefits for paid medical and disability leave in more than three decades;
- Helping New Yorkers combat medical debt;
- Establishing Empire AI, a nation-leading consortium that will create and launch a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence computing center in Buffalo to be used by New York colleges and universities to secure New York's place at the forefront of artificial intelligence and advance AI for the public good;
- Providing critical funding support to mass transit systems statewide, including $7.9 billion in operating aid for the MTA, $333 million for upstate transit systems, and $551 million for non-MTA downstate systems, a 5.4 percent increase in funding;
- Advancing nation-leading infrastructure programs by contributing $2.6 billion for the third year of a record $32.9 billion five-year DOT Capital Plan, funding projects that are reconnecting communities across the state, and $100 million for local programs through the CHIPS program.
- Making record environmental investments with $500 million for clean water, $400 million for the Environmental Protection Fund, and $47 million to support the Governor's goal to plant 25 million trees by 2033.
With a conceptual agreement in place, Hochul says the legislative houses are expected to pass bills that will enact these priorities.
Based on a preliminary assessment of the negotiated changes to the Executive proposal, the total budget for FY 2025 is currently estimated at $237 billion. The FY 2025 budget does not raise income or statewide business taxes and maintains state reserves at the gold standard of 15% for a "rainy day."