ALBANY, NY – Following the Senate Majority's passage of their proposed spending plan, Senator George Borrello stated that “despite their sudden claims of prioritizing ‘affordability,’ Senate Democrats have once again proven with their one-house budget that these are empty words.”
Senator Borrello noted that the spending plan not only hikes spending to unsustainable levels but also raises taxes on individuals and businesses by billions of dollars—policies that will accelerate the ongoing exodus of New Yorkers and businesses from the state.
“This budget is a blueprint for economic decline,” said Senator George Borrello. “At a time when families and businesses are struggling with rising costs, Democrats have decided to spend even more—adding $6.9 billion on top of the governor’s already bloated budget, bringing total spending to $259 billion, a 6.4% increase over last year. Instead of finding ways to reduce costs, they are making it even more expensive to live and work in New York.”
He noted that some of the most harmful provisions in the budget are:
- Massive Tax Increases: New Yorkers are already among the most taxed in the nation, yet this budget proposes over $9 billion in new taxes on residents and businesses.
- Punishing ‘Green’ Energy Mandates: The NY HEAT Act forces New York further down the costly and unreliable path of forced electrification, eliminating consumer choice and driving up energy costs.
- Soft-on-Crime Policies: While crime continues to plague the state’s communities, Democrats rejected the governor’s much-needed fix to the discovery law changes, which have led to more criminal cases being dismissed on technicalities and criminals walking free. Even worse, they’ve added another new pro-criminal policy that makes it easier for criminals to overturn their convictions.
- Ignoring the Prison Crisis: This budget fails to address the corrections officers’ strike over worsening prison safety, keeps the dangerous HALT Act in place, and refuses to mandate the use of purchased body scanners to detect drugs and contraband.
“This budget sends a clear message: Democrats are more interested in appeasing radical activists than addressing the real concerns of everyday New Yorkers,” said Borrello. “Their approach will push more businesses to flee, make energy costs even higher, and further erode public safety.”
He noted that while the budget is full of wasteful spending and harmful policies, there are some worthwhile investments, including:
- A $20 million increase for Nourish NY, a program Senator Borrello helped champion. The expansion will help the program enhance food assistance to struggling families and the market for New York farmers’ quality products.
- Universal free school meals and expansion of the farm-to-school program.
- Hundreds of millions more in funding for local roads and bridges.
- A long-awaited correction to the farm employer overtime tax credit to ensure all farms receive relief from burdensome overtime costs imposed by the state.
“There are always some positives in a budget this massive, and I was pleased to see critical funding increases for agriculture, education, local roads, and food security. But those cannot outweigh the misguided policies that will make it harder to live and work in our state,” Borrello said.
“The bottom line is that this budget is irresponsible, unsustainable, and unaffordable," Borrello concluded. "At a time when New Yorkers need real relief, this plan does the opposite—driving up costs, raising taxes, and putting our state's future at risk. That’s why I voted no.”
