The deal announced by Hochul on Monday tallies $254 billion and includes several policy initiatives from her initial plan, including universal free school meals and a cell phone ban in schools. Other items, like a proposed restriction on face masks, have been pared down.
State Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha, a Democrat from the 103rd District in Kingston, says she’s happy to see universal school meals and the cell phone ban made the cut, but she still doesn't have details nor numbers for the rest of the budget. She says it’s nowhere close to being done.
“I’ve heard from my colleagues who have been in office longer than I have that this has been the most opaque budget process that they have experienced, and that’s in line with my experience as well," she tells WAMC. "We don’t know that the cost-of-living adjustments for human services workers are going to be. We don’t know what Foundation Aid and school aid are going to be. We don’t really have the money numbers of anything you would think of as a budget.”
The budget is over a month late. Lawmakers say they have passed 10 budget extenders so far to keep the state running while negotiations continue.
“It is not done and we are still negotiating," says State Senator Rob Rolison, a Republican from the 39th District in Poughkeepise. "That’s what we have, and that’s as of [Thursday] midday.”
Assemblyman Matt Slater, a Republican from the 94th District in Brewster, has one item he’s pretty sure he’s against: increasing the payroll mobility tax to help fund the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Hochul announced this week that the state will back the MTA’s $68.4 billion capital plan to improve its infrastructure over the next five years. Hochul wants to raise the payroll mobility tax on companies in and around New York City to help cover the cost, but Slater says it could disincentivize business in the Hudson Valley.
“A tax on jobs does not create a job. I don’t know what it’s going to take for the governor to realize that," he says. "I’m very interested to see what the final details are, but I just don’t think that expanding the MTA payroll tax is a long-term, viable solution.”
Down in Westchester County, 93rd District Assemblyman Chris Burdick is a more amenable to the idea. He says the tax increase would apply more to larger companies than smaller employers.
“No one wants to pay taxes, but we have to fund the MTA," he notes. "New York City is absolutely critical to the economic and social welfare of the Hudson Valley.”
Going forward, Slater says he is focused on CHIPS funding for highway improvements — which he says the state needs more of — and the medical indemnity fund, which covers healthcare for those with severe disabilities. Slater says the program ran out of funding last year, leaving many people with disabilities struggling to pay for care.
On the subject of affordability, Slater and Shrestha say Hochul’s one-time “inflation refund checks” are a waste of money. Hochul initially proposed checks of up to $500 for joint tax filers, and $300 for individuals, but the agreement lowered that to $400 and $200, respectively. Shrestha says even the original numbers aren't enough to address the cost of living in the Hudson Valley.
“If we had invested, let’s say, $3 billion into permanently affordable homes, that would mean families can go on and do other things," she explains. "Maybe they can pay their debt, maybe they can go to college, maybe they can go get better jobs.”
Whatever lawmakers agree to may still need to be changed later this year, depending on how funding pans out from the federal government. The Trump Administration is working to slash funding nationwide, but Burdick says New York shouldn’t plan with the assumption that the money is gone.
"That could become self-fulfilling," he warns. "Because the government could say, ‘Oh gee, New York has figured this out, and we don’t need to provide as much funding.”
Slater says he’s hopeful lawmakers will finally have budget bills to look at on Monday.
“It’s hard to predict right now where exactly we are in that process," he says. "Based on everything we’ve heard, I will remain optimistic that we are closer to the end than we have been.”
