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A Guide to the State Budget Fight
This story originally appeared in New York Focus, a nonprofit news publication investigating power in New York. Sign up for its newsletter here.
The New York State Assembly wants to freeze your energy bills, the Senate wants to stop police from working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the governor wants to slash auto insurance premiums. Albany's leaders will hash out these and hundreds of other policies as they craft the state budget and decide how to spend $260 billion — and then some, if the legislature gets its way. The deadline is officially Wednesday (April 1), although the work is never completed by then.
Two weeks ago, the two legislative chambers released their counters to Gov. Kathy Hochul's executive budget. The biggest disagreement is on taxes; the Legislature is once again proposing hikes on wealthy people and corporations to fund expanded social programs. This year, they have a notable ally in their corner: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has aggressively pushed for more state revenue to help close the city's budget gap. All eyes are on Hochul, who has so far resisted the idea.
But there's much more to the battle than the headline numbers. Each of the three proposals are thousands of pages long, and they don't make for light reading. We've been working around the clock to break them down for you.
In the chart below, you can see where each party stands on the highest-profile issues. Below that, you can find written descriptions using the drop-down menus. Happy budget season!
FISCAL POLICY
Where They're Split
Tax the rich? Hochul and the Legislature are butting heads on whether to raise taxes in order to fund more programs and help cities plug their budget holes. The Senate and Assembly each proposed raising taxes statewide on wealthy individuals and corporations, as they have for the last few budget cycles.
The Senate proposed increases of 0.5 points on individuals earning above $5 million and 1.75 points on corporations earning at least $5 million. The Assembly backed a 0.2-point increase on individuals above $5 million, bigger hikes on the highest income brackets, and a 2-point hike on corporations with at least $10 million in income. The Assembly also proposed cutting income taxes for filers earning below $323,000.
Hochul did not propose new tax increases or income tax cuts, although she did propose extending a temporary increase on corporations through 2029.
Where They're Close
Total spending: The total sizes of the three budget proposals differ by about $10 billion, less than a 3 percent difference in a budget over $260 billion.
Where They Agree
Rainy day fund: The Senate, the Assembly and Hochul all want to keep $14.6 billion in the state's cash reserve. Building it to that level has been a significant accomplishment of Hochul's first term.
SOCIAL SERVICES
Where They're Split
Medicaid: Hochul proposed $49.1 billion in state spending on Medicaid. The Senate proposal added $660 million in state-share Medicaid spending beyond Hochul's proposal, according to a spokesperson for the Senate Finance Committee chair. The Assembly's total proposed Medicaid spending was not immediately clear.
Hochul proposed $1.56 billion in increased funding for hospitals, nursing homes and health clinics collectively. The Assembly proposed $862 million more than Hochul for the same providers.
The governor's executive budget did not include a clear path forward for those who will be disenrolled this summer from the state's Essential Plan — and neither do the Senate's nor the Assembly's proposals. The Senate proposed a new commission to make a plan by July outlining paths forward for the state's health care system after cuts. The Assembly proposed a contingency fund to offset costs for a subset of Essential Plan enrollees that it is legally required to cover. That fund would not support the 470,000 individuals that the Fiscal Policy Institute estimates are set to lose coverage.
Human services raises: T...
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By Highlands CurrentThis story originally appeared in New York Focus, a nonprofit news publication investigating power in New York. Sign up for its newsletter here.
The New York State Assembly wants to freeze your energy bills, the Senate wants to stop police from working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the governor wants to slash auto insurance premiums. Albany's leaders will hash out these and hundreds of other policies as they craft the state budget and decide how to spend $260 billion — and then some, if the legislature gets its way. The deadline is officially Wednesday (April 1), although the work is never completed by then.
Two weeks ago, the two legislative chambers released their counters to Gov. Kathy Hochul's executive budget. The biggest disagreement is on taxes; the Legislature is once again proposing hikes on wealthy people and corporations to fund expanded social programs. This year, they have a notable ally in their corner: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has aggressively pushed for more state revenue to help close the city's budget gap. All eyes are on Hochul, who has so far resisted the idea.
But there's much more to the battle than the headline numbers. Each of the three proposals are thousands of pages long, and they don't make for light reading. We've been working around the clock to break them down for you.
In the chart below, you can see where each party stands on the highest-profile issues. Below that, you can find written descriptions using the drop-down menus. Happy budget season!
FISCAL POLICY
Where They're Split
Tax the rich? Hochul and the Legislature are butting heads on whether to raise taxes in order to fund more programs and help cities plug their budget holes. The Senate and Assembly each proposed raising taxes statewide on wealthy individuals and corporations, as they have for the last few budget cycles.
The Senate proposed increases of 0.5 points on individuals earning above $5 million and 1.75 points on corporations earning at least $5 million. The Assembly backed a 0.2-point increase on individuals above $5 million, bigger hikes on the highest income brackets, and a 2-point hike on corporations with at least $10 million in income. The Assembly also proposed cutting income taxes for filers earning below $323,000.
Hochul did not propose new tax increases or income tax cuts, although she did propose extending a temporary increase on corporations through 2029.
Where They're Close
Total spending: The total sizes of the three budget proposals differ by about $10 billion, less than a 3 percent difference in a budget over $260 billion.
Where They Agree
Rainy day fund: The Senate, the Assembly and Hochul all want to keep $14.6 billion in the state's cash reserve. Building it to that level has been a significant accomplishment of Hochul's first term.
SOCIAL SERVICES
Where They're Split
Medicaid: Hochul proposed $49.1 billion in state spending on Medicaid. The Senate proposal added $660 million in state-share Medicaid spending beyond Hochul's proposal, according to a spokesperson for the Senate Finance Committee chair. The Assembly's total proposed Medicaid spending was not immediately clear.
Hochul proposed $1.56 billion in increased funding for hospitals, nursing homes and health clinics collectively. The Assembly proposed $862 million more than Hochul for the same providers.
The governor's executive budget did not include a clear path forward for those who will be disenrolled this summer from the state's Essential Plan — and neither do the Senate's nor the Assembly's proposals. The Senate proposed a new commission to make a plan by July outlining paths forward for the state's health care system after cuts. The Assembly proposed a contingency fund to offset costs for a subset of Essential Plan enrollees that it is legally required to cover. That fund would not support the 470,000 individuals that the Fiscal Policy Institute estimates are set to lose coverage.
Human services raises: T...