Budget tug-of-war stirring between Dems and Hochul
ALBANY — Child care, housing, education and alcoholic beverages will be at the heart of budget negotiations in the coming weeks as New York lawmakers unveil their fiscal priorities and prepare to talk dollars and cents with Gov. Hochul.
Ahead of an April 1 deadline, the Democratic-led Legislature is calling for billions in additional state funds for social programs to help struggling New Yorkers deal with rent, utility bills and child-care costs postpandemic.
Senate Dems have also pitched suspending part of the state’s gasoline tax from May through the end of the year, something Republicans have rallied around in recent months.
Lawmakers want to pause some key policy items the governor hopes to pass as part of the budget process — including her plan to allow restaurants to sell to-go alcoholic drinks — in their nonbinding one-house budget resolutions approved on Monday.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) touted his chamber’s plans to allocate an additional $1.25 billion to the state’s cashstrapped COVID rental relief program and $250 million for the long-awaited Housing Access Voucher Program to help at-risk New Yorkers secure permanent housing.
“Too many of our families across our state struggled with homelessness and finding access to affordable housing prior to the pandemic,” Heastie said. “This budget builds on the work done during the pandemic to keep New Yorkers in their homes, while creating and investing in programs that will give more families access to safe, affordable housing.”
The Assembly also wants to more than double the $1.4 billion Hochul proposed for child-care programs to $3 billion. In comparison, Senate Democrats want to increase eligibility for New York families and invest $2.2 billion, growing to more than $4 billion by 2024.
Hochul’s fellow Democrats, who hold a supermajority in the state Legislature, embraced much of the governor’s own proposed $216 billion spending plan — but pushed back on several points.
Lawmakers omitted Hochul’s 421-a reform plan and a measure that would allow the city to expand traffic enforcement via cameras.
They also argue that Hochul’s call to extend mayoral control of city schools for four years should not be a part of the budget process. That could set up a fight with City Hall as Mayor Adams has repeatedly said he wants the extension codified in the state spending plan.
Nothing is set in stone, and the fiscal and policy discrepancies will all be subject to negotiations, a major test for Hochul in an election year. The Buffalo native is running for a full term in office after replacing disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned amid sexual harassment allegations last year.
Lawmakers included items from their own policy wish lists, including the Clean Slate Act and a measure delinking the state tax code from the federal Opportunity Zone program. Another item would bar school buses from parking on city streets on nights and weekends. Both chambers back a plan to expand health care coverage to all New York residents regardless of their immigration status.
Dems are also looking to set aside $500 million to help people behind on utility bills, significantly boost SUNY and CUNY funding and increase pay for home care workers.
Senate Democrats want to increase the Environmental Bond Act from $4 billion to $6 billion and are calling for a commission to study hyperloop and high-speed rail in the state.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) said her conference’s one-house budget is “a statement of our values and solidifies the foundation for a stronger and more resilient New York.”
Advocate groups by and large applauded the Legislature’s additional spending for social programs.
Some good-government groups urged caution when it comes to spending as inflation reaches historic levels and the country faces economic uncertainty in light of the coronavirus crisis and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“New Yorkers have significant needs coming out of the pandemic and recession, and fortunately strong tax revenues and unprecedented one-time federal aid provide a great opportunity to help New Yorkers both now and in the future,” said Citizens Budget Commission President Andrew Rein.
“Still, wise choices are needed to ensure this happens.”