Though delayed by several weeks, New York State’s $237 billion budget was finally passed by the legislature this past weekend. Gov. Kathy Hochul, in her announcement, said It includes hundreds of new initiatives that will help fight crime, fix our mental health system, and ‘build more housing so people can afford to live and thrive in New York.’

“We are delivering a common-sense agenda that makes New York safer and more affordable,” Hochul said. “I promised to fight for New Yorkers and tackle the thorny issues, and that’s exactly what we’ve done.”

The Governor said FY 2025 budget does not raise income or statewide business taxes and maintains state reserves at the gold standard of 15 percent for a “rainy day.”

The FY 2025 Budget includes:
• $347 million to continue New York’s efforts to reduce and prevent gun violence.

• $40.2 million to crack down on retail theft by expanding enforcement and increasing penalties for offenders who assault retail workers and a $3,000 tax credit for business owners to invest in security resources.

• $35.8 million to prevent and prosecute crimes of domestic violence.

• $35 million to fight the rising tide of hate by expanding the number of offenses that can be prosecuted as hate crimes and investing in the Securing Communities Against Hate Grant that protects houses of worship, religious schools and other at-risk sites.

• $7.1 million to reduce recidivism and improve reentry into the workforce by providing more intensive supervision of individuals on parole, expanding transitional housing opportunities, expanding college programming to all state prisons, and providing transportation for visitors to and from State Correctional Facilities.

After some reflection, Assemblyman Brian Maher (R-Walden), said he was disappointed in the budget.

“Our 2024-25 New York State Budget was delayed by several weeks once again. While every budget has good and bad components, this budget is one I could not support. I was happy to see some items my team and I advocated for make it into the budget, including:
- Defeating the Governor’s proposed cut to foundation aid for countless school districts statewide by keeping the “hold harmless” language in the budget.
- Making a change in property law to distinguish squatters from tenants.
- Increasing penalties and resources to combat retail theft crimes.
- Expanding programs and tax credits to address child care needs.

- Expanding eligibility for TAP to help make college more affordable for many New Yorkers.

“However, spending in the state has gone from $163 billion in 2018 to $237 billion in 2024. Budget deficits may not make the headlines but these real financial problems will impact our state in a variety of ways in the years to come. While we spend a record amount of your taxpayer dollars we are not even coming close to funding our roads and infrastructure the way we need to. We did not invest enough in our direct-service professionals (DSPs) within the human services industry, who desperately needed both a pay increase and job security in the years to come. The average salary for our DSPs is $16.50 per hour. These hard-working men and women provide our most vulnerable New Yorkers mental health, addiction and other essential services, yet some of them qualify for social services programs themselves. We needed to do more to address these issues as well as crime, affordability, the migrant crisis, other state workforce-related emergencies and more.

“It’s unfortunate that the budget process in New York is always subject to a rushed process with absolutely no transparency. I would love to see us work together and I will do my very best to continue to work with my colleagues, regardless of party, to ensure we do more for the people of my district and the state of New York,” said Maher.

State Senator James T. Skoufis (D-Cornwall) was more critical, claiming the Governor failed to deliver on a promise to provide storm relief to a portion of his district, after a July 9, 2023, storm decimated the Village of Highland Falls, Town of Highlands, and surrounding communities.

“Budgets are about priorities, and the Governor has made it clear where her priorities lie: with her Hollywood donors and personal pet projects - not the people of Orange County,” said Senator Skoufis. “While I was proud to fight for the best interests of local residents and taxpayers, the final 2024-25 budget leaves too much on the table and blatantly ignores the needs of many New Yorkers. The communities impacted by the catastrophic flooding last July are left high and dry in this budget despite the Governor’s previous promise to stand by them. I won’t stop fighting to get the resources and funding we need to carry through on our commitments to my constituents.”

The final budget also includes Newspaper and Broadcast Media Jobs Program tax incentive, to support local print media and broadcasters. It specifically creates a personal income and corporate franchise tax credit for certain qualifying, independently owned print media or broadcasting entities, particularly those that have experienced workforce or circulation decline in the last five years. It does so by placing a total cap on the credit per entity of $300,000, and an annual cap of $30 million. It sets aside $4 million to provide a credit of $5,000 for the hiring of new employees, and $26 million set aside for the retention of current staff. Half of this will be set aside specifically for those with 100 or fewer employees. This program is set to take effect for tax year 2025.