Assembly's Proposed $245.8 Billion SFY 2024-25 Budget Invests in Making New York State a More Affordable Place to Live

Speaker Carl Heastie and Ways and Means Committee Chair Helene E. Weinstein today announced that the Assembly will pass the Assembly State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2024-25 Budget proposal. The $245.8 billion spending plan makes critical investments in making New York a more affordable place to live.

“The Assembly Majority is committed to delivering a budget that puts New York families first and ensures no one gets left behind,” Speaker Heastie said. “We are working to make our state a more affordable place for families by relieving the tax burden, investing in our safety net programs, and ensuring our children have a bright future through a quality education and access to affordable higher education.”

“I’m proud that we have put together a budget that invests in people, the programs and infrastructure that support them, and in the future of our state,” Assemblymember Weinstein said. “From ensuring access to a quality education to funding critical Medicaid programs to investing in our transportation infrastructure, we will continue working to make our state a better place for all New Yorkers.”

Taxes & Revenue

The Assembly’s proposed spending plan includes proposals to ease the tax burden on New York families, including:

• Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to taxpayers who are joint filers or have children, increasing the phase out range to $56,000 and $79,000;
• Providing a Supplemental Empire State Child Credit, which would be calculated as a percentage of a taxpayer’s 2023 Empire State Child Credit;
• Providing a one year STAR Tax Rebate Credit for households eligible for STAR or Enhanced STAR and have incomes below $250,000;
• A sales tax holiday on certain fire prevention and detection equipment during October;
• A sales tax holiday on school supplies up to $110 for 15 days prior to Labor Day; and
• Providing a Sales Tax Exemption on oral care products.

An additional sales tax exemption is included in the budget and would be available for the purchase and installation of residential and commercial energy storage systems used to provide heating, cooling, hot water and electricity.

The Assembly budget proposal also creates a tax credit for employers who hire individuals from targeted groups.The credit would be equal to 100 percent of the federal credit, not to exceed $500 per employee and the total amount of tax credits provided over a three year period would not exceed $30 million.

The proposed budget would increase the Personal Income Tax (PIT) rates for the highest earners. The rate for taxpayers earning between $5 million and $25 million would go from 10.3 percent to 10.8 percent. The rate for those earning over $25 million would increase from the current 10.9 percent rate to 11.4 percent. This would add $930 million in additional revenue for SFY 2024-25.

Wages

The Assembly spending plan includes $275 million across the human services agencies to provide a 3.2 percent cost of living adjustment. This covers the Office of Mental Health (OMH), Office of Addiction Service and Supports (OASAS), Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), State Office for the Aging and foster care providers.

Education

The proposed budget provides $36.4 billion in funding to the General Support for Public Schools (GSPS), an increase of $1.8 billion over the 2023-24 school year (SY).

The Assembly rejects the Executive’s proposal to eliminate the “Hold Harmless” provision within Foundation Aid and the Executive’s proposal to lower the inflation rate formula used to calculate Foundation Aid by returning the factor to a one-year calculation.Instead, the Assembly provides $25.3 billion to Foundation Aid, a $1.3 billion increase over SY 2023-24 and provides a minimum increase of three percent.

The proposed spending plan also includes a new Smart Schools Bond Act that provides $2 billion for educational technology and infrastructure to ensure our schools have the tools needed to provide all students a world-class education.

Higher Education

To ensure higher education is accessible and affordable to all, the proposed spending plan makes critical investments in the State University of New York (SUNY) and City University of New York’s (CUNY) educational programs and provides $213.2 million for opportunity programs.

The spending plan also increases the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) income limit threshold from $80,000 to $125,000 for dependent students, from $40,000 to $60,000 for independent married students with no other tax dependents and from $10,000 to $30,000 for single independent students with no tax dependents. It would also allow students to receive a fifth year of TAP.

Health

The proposed Assembly SFY 2024-25 Budget adds $3.1 billion in funding to the Medicaid program and $1.1 billion in investments in public health. It also invests $1 billion for healthcare facility capital needs, and includes language to ensure that additional capital support to SUNY Downstate would be used to maintain the future of SUNY Downstate as a vital safety net provider.

Housing

The Assembly Majority has consistently fought to invest in programs and policies that help New Yorkers remain in their homes and provide access to quality, affordable housing. Leading the way in passing historic tenant protections in 2019 and helping tenants and homeowners stay in their homes as they faced financial uncertainty throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The Assembly is committed to addressing the state’s affordable housing shortage by enacting statewide policies that protect tenants from arbitrary and capricious rent increases and unreasonable evictions of paying tenants, ensure strong labor standards, provide development incentives including for office conversions,increase much needed affordable housing supply, support existing Mitchell-Lama programs, and create new housing supply on state owned land.

The proposed Assembly SFY 2024-25 Budget includes $500 million for the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) as well as $500 million for Mitchell-Lama Preservation and Homeownership.

The proposed spending plan invests in critical funding for rental and homeownership assistance for low income and working class families, including:

• $250 million for the Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP);
• $40 million for the Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP);
• $25 million for First Time Homeowner Assistance; and
• $10 million for Land Banks.

The Assembly budget includes a proposed $1.5 billion to assist tenants and provide homeowner assistance, and recommends that no less than $125 million be directed to supportive housing for individuals who have been incarcerated and are at risk of facing homelessness. Additionally, the spending plan includes:

• $500 million for Foundations for Futures;
• $150 million for Rest of State Public Housing for rehabilitation and replacement for new construction;
• $7 million for the Small Rental Housing Development Initiative;
• $7 million in restorations for Housing Opportunities Program for the Elderly, for a total of $8.4 million; and
• A $2 million increase for Access to Home for a total of $3 million.

Childcare

Every family should have access to safe, affordable childcare. To support childcare and providers across the state, the proposed Assembly spending plan includes $500 million for Child Care Provider Wage Enhancements, as well as $5 million for the afterschool programming for a total of $105.8 million and ensures existing contracts are extended until a new grant process is completed.

Additionally, the plan includes language to require local social services districts to provide childcare assistance for additional or different hours than a parent or caretaker spends at work, training or educational activity, and expands access by establishing differential payment rates for providers who provide care during nontraditional hours for children experiencing homelessness.

Transportation

The Assembly budget proposal makes critical investments in New York State’s transportation infrastructure, including $4.9 billion for the State Road and Bridge program, $598 million for CHIPs, $210 million for Pave NY, $150 million for Extreme Winter Recovery and $180 million for the State Touring Route program.

The proposed spending plan also includes funding for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to support affordable alternatives to the congestion pricing toll, including:

• extending the MTA free bus pilot program by one year and expanding the program to three free routes in each borough, providing $45 million for the fare-free bus pilot program, as well as $45 million for additional bus services including Express Bus;
• providing a 10 percent discount on monthly Long Island Railroad (LIRR) and Metro North Railroad (MNR) passes for trips within New York City;
• $127.5 million in funding for the Fair Fares program to raise the income eligibility threshold from 120 percent of the federal poverty level up to 200 percent; and
• $50 million to establish a low-income discount program for the LIRR and MNR.

Supporting New York’s Safety Net

The Assembly’s proposed budget makes critical investments in supporting the safety net for individuals and families in New York who need help the most, including:

• $200 million to establish the Increasing Nutrition Support for Prenatal and Infant Resiliency (INSPIRE) program, providing cash assistance to low-income households during the last three months of a pregnancy and though the first year of a child’s life;
• $112 million to establish a supplement grant for public assistance to address benefits that have not been adjusted in years;
• A $50 million increase for antipoverty programs in Rochester, Buffalo and Syracuse to expand access to other communities for a total of $100 million;
• $11.5 million in additional funding for Runaway and Homeless Youth Programming; and
• $1.5 million for the National Diaper Bank Network.

Combating Gun Violence

The Assembly is committed to fighting gun violence across the state and provided $30 million for anti-gun violence initiatives, including:

• $10 million for community-based organization to respond, repair and rebuild in the aftermath of violence and serve victims of gun violence;
• $10 million for SNUG in New York City; and
• $10 million for crime reduction, youth justice and gang prevention programs.

Additional Funding

The proposed Assembly budget would allow New York City to participate in Raise the Age funding by removing the requirement that localities must adhere to the two percent tax cap or be fiscally distressed. It also carves out $50 million for community-based prevention, early intervention and alternatives to detention and incarceration programs.

The Assembly budget restores $30 million in funding for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) crisis intervention centers and community-based organizations combatting biased crimes, matching the funding in the approved SFY 2023-24 Budget. In addition, the proposed budget includes $350,000 to create the Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Leadership Institute within SUNY.

This proposed spending plan includes $5 million for the New York State Community Commission on Reparations Remedies. Last year, the Legislature passed legislation creating the commission tasked with examining the impact of the institution of slavery In New York State, the subsequent discrimination and systemic racism, and proposing appropriate remedies and reparations.