State Budget Director Robert Mujica, Governor Kathy Hochul
New York would boost state school aid, provide sweeping property tax relief and deliver bonuses to health care workers over the next year if lawmakers pass a $216.3 billion dollar budget outlined by Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday.
The Associated Press reports top legislative leaders are expected to keep negotiating with Hochul to finalize the budget, which must be in place by April 1.
Hochul is proposing a 3.1% spending increase in taxpayer dollars for her 2022 proposed budget. The Democratic governor says the spending increase is just below the rate of inflation.
School spending would increase by $2.1 billion dollars, a 7.1% increase. New York raised taxes on high earners and corporations last year with plans to use millions in new tax revenues to keep increasing the state’s share of school aid.
Her budget also includes $1.2 billion in bonuses for health care and front line workers. If that passes, it’ll be up to the state to come up with specifics of how it would guarantee such bonuses.
Hochul proposes offering $2.2 billion in one-time property tax rebates for low- and middle-income homeowners. That rebate would arrive this fall.
Hochul also wants New York to decrease tax rates for the middle class by $162 million through April 2023. Currently, the state is set to wait until 2025 to fully phase in those long-planned tax cuts.
Counties could also raise sales taxes without approval from state lawmakers under another proposal by Hochul. But state budget director Robert Mujica stressed that Hochul’s budget itself wouldn’t raise taxes.
New York has yet to launch recreational marijuana sales, but budget officials project the industry will bring in $56 million in revenues through March 2023.
Mujica said the state expects to start issuing licenses for sellers of adult-use recreational marijuana sometime next year.
Hochul’s budget also includes a $200 million dollar fund backed by state and private dollars to provide capital and startup support to help applicants from under-represented communities.
New York’s recent launch of mobile sports betting is expected to bring in $249 million in revenue through March alone. That’s expected to climb to $357 million through March 2023.
New York is bringing in much more tax revenue than state budget officials expected last year. The latest budget projections released Tuesday say New York will see $5 billion more in tax revenues through March than projected last fall.
That revenue jump is due in part to the state’s slowly recovering economy, as well as tax hikes lawmakers passed last year on high earners and large corporations.
Hochul said she wants the state to set aside more funding in case of future catastrophes. Rainy day funds would eventually make up 15% of the state’s budget under her multi-year plan.
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