Governor Kathy Hochul of Albany, N.Y., has announced that a conceptual agreement for the FY2025 Budget is now in place, two weeks after the original deadline passed. The final budget agreement is anticipated to cost $237 billion. Sources in the legislature have indicated that about 80 percent of the budget has been agreed upon. Budget bills are set to be printed on Monday evening and throughout Tuesday. The legislature voted to extend the budget deadline to Thursday.
Governor Hochul stated, “I promised to fight the right fights for New Yorkers, deliver common-sense solutions, and address the thorny issues that others might overlook, and that’s exactly what we’ve accomplished.” The Governor highlighted initiatives such as fighting crime, improving the mental health system, and increasing affordable housing in New York.
The agreement includes tackling New York’s housing crisis by creating a statewide tax incentive for multifamily housing in Upstate New York and allocating $650 million for the Pro-Housing Community initiative. The budget also includes provisions such as increasing penalties for assault against retail workers, allocating $40.2 million for retail theft enforcement, addressing illegal cannabis shops, expanding hate crime offenses, facilitating toll evasion, providing paid leave for expectant mothers, conducting a study on the Foundation Aid formula, implementing Empire AI, and allocating $500 for clean water.
For more information on the State Budget, you can watch the Governor’s address. Stay tuned for further coverage on this topic.