More spending, more taxes, more trouble for New York
With an April 1st budget deadline looming, proposals and negotiations are in full swing.
The Assembly Majority Conference’s proposal for this year is a staggering $246 billion, meaning, if this proposal is enacted, our budget will have increased by $98 billion since my election to the New York State Assembly in 2016.
To achieve this record-setting level of spending, the one-house proposal seeks to impose $3.5 billion in new taxes over the next two years. The kicker? State revenues continue to come in better than expected, making these tax hikes unnecessary. Even with an additional $1.4 billion in consensus revenue, the Assembly Majority can’t resist spending all of it and hiking personal income and business taxes, including an increase in the corporate franchise rate.
I see budgets as a way to identify our priorities as New Yorkers:
• I support investments in our direct support professionals (DSPs) working with our most vulnerable New Yorkers. Despite the vital role DSPs play their wages are not commensurate with their responsibilities, contributing to a significant workforce shortage. These DSPs were largely ignored for so many years, there is a lot of catching up to do to ensure the recruitment and retention of a skilled workforce.
• Similarly, Medicaid rates need to be updated. Long overdue rebasing and the lagging reimbursement rates render providers ill-equipped and unable to cover their costs. New Yorkers who need Medicaid shouldn’t have to travel extraordinarily long distances, and wait months and months to have their medical needs addressed.
• The school Foundation Aid formula is outdated and should be studied to meet present-day needs, but abruptly cutting Foundation Aid for over 50% of our schools is unfair. Students across the state deserve equity in their educational opportunities no matter what type of district they come from. The longer the state waits to finalize school funding, the greater impact it will have on our students with school budget votes approaching in May.
• CHIPS highway funding should be restored. Earlier this month, I held a press conference in Halfmoon alongside legislative colleagues and local town highway superintendents to condemn the executive’s proposed cut in state aid for local roads and bridges. New York’s deteriorating infrastructure is notorious; our state ranks 49th in the U.S. for local roads.
These poor conditions cost drivers an extra $36.7 billion annually in increased vehicle operating costs, traffic accidents and congestion-related delays. Our highway superintendents and their crews do a fantastic job, but we’re asking all of them to do more with less, and that’s not fair or equitable. Saratoga County is one of the few counties in the state with a growing population, and that puts even more stress and strain on our infrastructure.
• I’m disappointed that neither the Governor nor the one-house budgets walk back the problematic zero-emission electric vehicle (EV) bus mandate set to impact our school districts starting in 2027. I’ve heard from school districts, pupil transportation experts and school business officials who have highlighted many problems with this mandate.
EV buses are three times more expensive than high-efficiency diesel buses. EV buses have a 20% failure rate compared to 1-2% for conventional buses. Sky-high infrastructure costs pose another challenge.
For example, Shenendehowa has been told that to power an entirely EV bus fleet for the district, it will need to install a $30 million substation on its campus. We must delay implementation, conduct a state-funded study on electricity capacity and infrastructure requirements and provide accurate cost estimates for each school bus operation statewide.
The lack of attention to this issue in the one-house budget proposal is glaring, and I urge further action to address these concerns before finalizing the budget.
We cannot afford to continue down this path of unchecked spending and ever-increasing taxation. We owe it to ourselves and future generations to prioritize sustainable growth and fiscal accountability. As we move towards a finalized State budget, I’ll continue to advocate for these issues and others, to benefit our schools, businesses, and taxpayers in our beautiful State.