Plugged In @ Hinman Straub

January 24, 2022

What’s Inside

  • Governor Releases Executive Budget Proposal
  • Legislature Announces Joint Legislative Budget Hearing Schedule
  • State Senate Confirms DOH Commissioner
  • Attorney General Releases More Transcripts of Cuomo Investigation
  • Political Updates
  • Coming Up

Governor Releases Executive Budget Proposal

Governor Kathy Hochul delivered her Executive Budget address on Tuesday, January 18 in a presentation offered virtually from the State Capitol in Albany. Her proposed budget of $216.3 billion stands in stark contrast to a year ago, when New York had faced some of the largest projected budget deficits in state history.

Governor Hochul projects budget surpluses and adding to rainy day reserves over the next several years. The Governor credited funding from the federal American Rescue Plan and a strong stock market and rising tax receipts for the state’s now-robust finances.

The Governor’s budget briefing book can be found here.

The Appropriation Bills and Article VII Bills can be found here.

Key proposals in the FY 2023 Executive Budget include:

 

Casino Gaming – The Executive Budget proposes authorizing the award of up to three additional casino licenses.

Economic Development – The Executive Budget includes $100 million for Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) grants, a new initiative to expand access to broadband in rural and urban areas, $105 million in capital funding for the Olympic Regional Development Authority, and $350 million to overhaul workforce development efforts statewide.

Education – The Executive Budget provides $31.3 billion in total school aid for SY 2023, a year-to-year increase of $2.1 billion (7.1 percent) including a $1.6 billion Foundation Aid increase and a $466 million increase in all other school aid programs. These school aid increases are the largest in state history. The Executive Budget would require all that all new school bus purchases be zero emissions by 2027 and all school buses on the road be zero emissions by 2035. The Executive Budget also provides a four-year extension of mayoral control of the New York City school system.

Environment – The Executive Budget includes a $100 million increase for the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), totaling $400 million to support solid waste programs, parks, open space, and climate change mitigation. The Executive Budget includes a $500 million appropriation to support clean water infrastructure, and an additional $500 million to support offshore wind power development. Governor Hochul proposes to increase a $3 billion environmental bond issue by $1 billion; the bond issue was originally to be on the 2020 ballot but was deferred during the pandemic emergency. The Executive Budget also includes provisions to create an extended producer responsibility program for packaging and paper products.

Ethics – The Governor’s budget plan includes a proposed constitutional amendment to impose term limits on the four office holders elected statewide (Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General and State Comptroller). These officials would be limited to two four-year terms each. The Executive Budget also proposes replacing the current Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) with a new independent board, and strengthening ethics requirements for local government officials.

Health – The Governor’s proposal includes a $10 billion, multi-year investment in healthcare, including more than $4 billion to support wages and bonuses for healthcare workers. The proposal would appropriate $2 billion to support healthcare worker wages, $1.2 billion for healthcare and mental hygiene worker retention bonuses, $500 million for cost of living adjustments (COLAs) to help raise wages for human services workers, and $2.4 billion for healthcare capital infrastructure.

Higher Education – Governor Hochul proposes $150 million to expand the Tuition Assistance Program to part-time students, and authorize part-time TAP to cover students enrolled in certain workforce credential programs. Her budget would also hike support for students in higher education opportunity programs by $24 million, increase operating support to CUNY and SUNY by $127 million, and appropriate $103 million for the hiring of fulltime faculty at both four-year and community colleges.

Housing – The Executive Budget includes a new $25 billion, five-year housing plan to create and preserve 100,000 affordable homes, including 10,000 homes with support services for vulnerable populations, and to electrify an additional 50,000 homes. This initiative includes $5.7 billion in direct capital support, $8.8 billion in State and Federal tax credits and other federal allocations, and $11 billion to support the operation of shelters and supportive housing units and to provide rental subsidies.

Infrastructure – The Executive Budget provides $6.7 billion for the first year of a new $32.8 billion, five-year DOT Capital Plan for improvements to highways, bridges, rail, aviation infrastructure, non-MTA transit, and DOT facilities. Compared to the last five-year DOT Capital Plan, this is an increase of $9.4 billion, or 40 percent.

Revenue & Tax Actions –The Executive Budget also proposes several tax relief measures and no new taxes. The Governor seeks a one-time $2.2 billion property tax rebate, accelerating the phase-in of the middle-class tax cut, $100 million in tax relief to small businesses, and $250 million in small business tax credits to cover COVID-19 related expenses.

State Capitol Buildings – The Governor proposes funding for renovations to the State Capitol and Empire State Plaza. $41 million would be appropriated to renovate a massive exterior staircase at the Capitol building itself, and $176 million for improvements to the Empire State Plaza complex.

Legislature Announces Joint Legislative Budget Hearing Schedule

Senate Finance Committee Chair Liz Krueger and Assembly Ways and Means Committee Chair, Helene E. Weinstein announced the Joint Legislative Hearing Schedule on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-23 Executive Budget Proposal.

These hearings, each of which focuses on a programmatic area of the Executive Budget Proposal, are intended to provide the appropriate legislative committees with public input. In the interest of public health and safety, the hearings will be conducted virtually using web-based video conferencing.

Requests to testify must be made by submitting a Hearing Request Form no later than 5 p.m. on the dates listed in the chart below. The Hearing Request Form can also be found on both the Senate and Assembly websites at www.nysenate.gov and www.nyassembly.gov, respectively.

State Senate Confirms Department of Health Commissioner

The State Senate confirmed Dr. Mary Bassett as commissioner of the Department of Health. She has served in the role as acting commissioner since the end of last year. Bassett replaces Dr. Howard Zucker, who served under Governor Cuomo. The new commissioner drew criticism from Republicans during confirmation hearings for refusing to disparage the March 25th DOH order requiring nursing homes to take COVID positive patients. Dr. Bassett defended herself, saying her intention is to be forward looking and not second guess past decisions.

Dr. Bassett said:

I am honored to be officially appointed to serve as the 17th New York State Health Commissioner, and I thank Governor Kathy Hochul for entrusting me and the State Senate for this vote of confidence. As I have said from the beginning, I will continue to be open and transparent and make decisions based on science, data and improving the health of all New Yorkers. I will continue to work with our experts at the Department of Health and our partners at all levels of government on the COVID-19 response and other critical public health issues.

Attorney General Release Additional Transcripts of Cuomo Investigation

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) released the final set of videos, transcripts, and corresponding exhibits from the investigation into sexual harassment allegations against former Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Links to the transcripts and video testimony can be found here.

Political Updates

City & State NY’s Weekly Winners and Losers here.

Mayor de Blasio drops out of race for governor.

Progressive Lawmakers Push ‘Justice Agenda’ in Albany for 2022 Session.

Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin pays back $25K in personal expenses to state senate campaign.

New York Senate Democrats build campaign war chest to keep supermajority.

The 46 donors who gave nearly $70K apiece to Hochul.

Suozzi releases first TV ad of campaign for governor.

New York Senate majority leader: If needed, Legislature will redistrict reasonably.

Coming Up

JCOPE will hold its next meeting on January 25.

Joint Legislative Budget Hearing: Public Protection, 9:30am Tuesday, January 25.

Joint Legislative Budget Hearing: Lower Ed, 9:30am Wednesday, January 26.

Joint Legislative Budget Hearing: Workforce Development, 11:00am Monday, January 31.

Joint Legislative Budget Hearing: Housing, 2:00pm Monday, January 31.

Joint Legislative Budget Hearing: Environment, 9:30am Tuesday, February 1.

Joint Legislative Budget Hearing: Human Services, 9:30am Wednesday, February 2.

Joint Legislative Budget Hearing: Higher Ed, 11:00am Monday, February 7.

Joint Legislative Budget Hearing: Health, 9:30am Tuesday, February 8.

Joint Legislative Budget Hearing: Local Gov, 9:30am Wednesday, February 9.

Joint Legislative Budget Hearing: Mental Health, 11:00am Monday, February 14.

The Board of Regents will hold their next meeting on February 14 and 15.

Joint Legislative Budget Hearing: Transportation, 9:30am Tuesday, February 15.

Joint Legislative Budget Hearing: Economic Development, 9:30am Wednesday, February 16.

Joint Legislative Budget Hearing: Taxes, 1:00pm Wednesday, February 16.

The Public Service Commission will hold its next meeting on February 17.