ALBANY, N.Y. (1010 WINS) -- The New York State legislature passed a $220 billion budget Saturday morning after marathon negotiations with Gov. Kathy Hochul and an all night session.
Hochul signed the budget Saturday afternoon.
The budget, which will go into effect in the coming weeks, was due April 1, but negotiations dragged on between the governor and legislators.
After a night of heated debate, the Senate passed the budget at 4:45 a.m. and the Assembly gave approval just before 9:30 a.m.
This year’s budget is $8 billion higher than last year. Hochul said most of the additional spending is offset by increased tax revenue and federal pandemic relief funds.
Hochul succeeded in jamming through rollbacks of a 2019 bail reform law despite broad support for bail reform in the legislature.
The changes will allow bail for certain misdemeanor gun charges and repeat offenders who commit minor crimes. The changes particularly target shoplifters and other theft charges.
Hochul faced backlash from progressives after introducing measures in the budget to rollback elements of the bail reform law, and failed to satisfy conservatives who demanded a full repeal.
The budget features a tax relief program focused on “middle income” New Yorkers that offers rebates for gas, homeowners and businesses.
Those who don’t own property, don’t drive or don’t have a stake in a business were not included in the tax relief package.
The most notable component of the tax relief program is the suspension of state gas taxes from June 1 to Sept. 31.
State infrastructure and public transit projects that rely on gas tax revenue will suffer from the cuts, but car owners, truckers and oil companies will reap the rewards.
Other notable features include an increase in healthcare spending, green infrastructure funding and the return of to-go drinks — a popular pandemic initiative that ended alongside other coronavirus relief programs in June 2021.
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