Lawmakers agree on New York State Budget
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ALBANY, N.Y. — Lawmakers have finally agreed on a New York State Budget for 2023. The State Senate and State Assembly approved the $229 billion spending plan on Tuesday night.
The budget now heads to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk for approval. The agreement on the budget comes a month after the official April 1 deadline. You can see the budget here.
The budget includes rollbacks on the 2019 law that ended cash bail for most people charged with misdemeanors or non-violent felonies. Judges will no longer be required to use only the “least restrictive means” to ensure that defendants return to court.
The budget also includes funding to address the migrant crisis in New York City and more money for education. Notably, the budget does not include affordable housing initiatives and increasing taxes on the wealthy.
On a visit to Rochester in February, Hochul said the proposed budget included $10 million to expand the Susan B. Anthony Museum. The funding would help to accommodate more visitors and create a pressurized room to preserve historic documents. Hochul also announced $112,000 to renovate the Boys & Girls Club in the budget.
Not everyone is happy about the budget. Senate Republican Minority Leader Rob Ortt said it’s the least transparent budget in recent memory. He said it failed to address the affordability crisis, does nothing to improve public safety, and imposes more big government mandates that threaten New York’s economy.
Even some Democrats, such as Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, said the budget is extremely policy driven but not on the issues that matter.
The official budget deadline, April 1, was the start of New York’s fiscal year. Due to disagreements over bail reform and housing, lawmakers passed at least three extensions to keep the government running and state employees paid. Last week, lawmakers finally reached a conceptual agreement on a balanced budget.