Last week the Senate and Assembly adopted our respective “one-house” budget resolutions and convened public, joint conference committee meetings, the next step in the process before reaching final negotiations with Governor Cuomo. These one-house resolutions serve as public statements of the priorities each legislative chamber will be staking out during the budget talks.
One of the key highlights of the Senate’s “one-house” is a rejection of roughly a billion dollars in new taxes and fees proposed by the governor earlier this year. New York cannot continue as one of the highest taxed and overregulated states in America. We are losing our way again after eight years of the Cuomo administration. We are not staying focused on getting residents and businesses out from under one of the nation’s heaviest tax and regulatory burdens.
It is time to reorder New York State’s priorities so that we tax less, regulate less, mandate less, and create more and better jobs.
On top of rejecting the governor’s proposed tax and fee increases, the Senate budget includes a package of tax cuts, as well as a comprehensive regulatory reform package to eliminate unnecessary and duplicative state rules that are obstacles to economic growth and job development.
The Senate plan also calls for shutting down the under-performing START-UP NY program and redirecting nearly $45 million in funding for advertising to support more effective economic development initiatives.
The Senate budget also calls for increasing funding to strengthen New York’s response to the heroin and opioid crisis, along with ongoing, strong support for environmental conservation, criminal justice and other key programs and services, including an overall increase of approximately $1 billion in state aid to public schools. That would bring the state’s total investment in schools to a record $26.1 billion.
Overall, the Senate budget renews and revitalizes New York State’s commitment to local job growth, local tax relief, local environments, local infrastructure, and local community safety and development. Particularly important are Senate priorities on several fronts, including:
- a record level of funding to continue to enhance the state’s heroin and opioid addiction prevention, treatment, recovery, and education services;- the full funding of the state’s Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), which supports critical local environmental initiatives including clean air and water projects that help create local jobs. Studies have shown that for every dollar of EPF funds invested in land and water protection, the state and localities get back seven dollars in economic benefits; and - a $65-million increase in base aid for the Consolidated Highway Improvement Programs (CHIPS), the main source of state aid for local roads and bridges.
Governor Cuomo proposed upwards of $10 million in agricultural program funding cuts earlier this year. The Senate budget says no to those cuts and restores the funding. Since 2011, the Senate Majority has initiated budget restorations totaling more than $50 million. The last thing New York State can afford to do is to stop investing in programs and services vital to the future of farming and agriculture. That makes no sense. The governor’s agricultural cuts would do great harm to many rural, upstate communities. We have to keep New York’s priorities straight and that includes strong support for the agricultural industry and our farmers.Overall, the Senate budget stays within a self-imposed two-percent spending cap, which is critical to any hope for ongoing, long-term tax relief. The Legislature has now convened joint, public budget conference committees that will continue to meet throughout the week ahead to settle legislative differences on this year’s budget and put in place a new fiscal plan by the start of the state’s new fiscal year on April 1. These conference committees can be viewed live on the Senate website: https://www.nysenate.gov/events.
