N.Y. rejected divisive politics

These have been trying times for our state and nation. We have seen the federal government attempt and fail to take a wrecking ball to our health care system and attempt and fail to create a religious test for immigration. Soon, Congress will start scrambling to cut taxes for the few at the expense of everyone else. In New York, we say no. We have rejected the politics of division and are forging our own path. With our agreement on a $153 billion budget for 2017, New York State has issued a bold and optimistic statement of our values. This budget agreement invests in our middle class, cuts taxes for working families, strengthens our economy and expands opportunity for all. And it does so even while keeping the rate of spending at an all-time low — held to 2% for the past seven years. In a response to the most intense period of domestic turbulence in half a century, and with the middle class feeling increasingly ignored and frustrated, our budget makes clear that progressive beliefs, far from being impediments to the middle class, are in fact the foundation upon which the middle class was built in the first place, and on which it will grow stronger. With this budget, New York becomes the first state in the nation to provide tuition-free college at our excellent public universities for families making up to $125,000 per year. Nearly 80% of New York families qualify for the program. This year’s budget also includes education spending increases of $386.8 million in New York City and $1.1 billion statewide, bringing New York State’s total educational investment to $25.8 billion, the most in history. The budget inc ludes other significant advancements. For too long, the soaring price of prescription drugs has prevented our most vulnerable from accessing the lifesaving treatment they need. Not anymore. We are capping the price of prescription drug spending in Medicaid to ensure equal access for all. Our budget advances the pursuit of social justice. Draconian punishments for youthful offenders have ruined countless lives, so we are finally raising the age of criminal responsibility to 18 and stopping young people from being jailed on Rikers Island after Oct. 1, 2018. The budget also commits $10 million to the nation-leading Liberty Defense Project, which will provide free legal assistance to immigrants, regardless of their citizenship status, and enforces our anti-discrimination and hate-crimes laws in every instance of prejudice through the newly established $1 million Hate Crimes Task Force. Building on the state’s historic $100 billion infrastructure program, this budget also advances world-class projects, including the new LaGuardia Airport already underway, a completely transformed Penn Station, the long-awaited Bruckner-Sheridan Interchange and the Kosciuszko Bridge. Guided by our shared belief in a better tomorrow, we will continue working until the bright light of opportunity shines on everyone. During these times of anxiety and uncertainty, New York will continue to lead the nation forward. Excelsior.