“This weekend, my colleagues and I wrapped up a long and arduous budget process. While the debates and negotiations were exhaustive, we’ve put together a final budget for fiscal year 2024-2025 that delivers for individuals, families, businesses, and schools here in Amherst, Western New York, and across New York State.

“New York State is the proud home of dozens of quality higher education institutions. The State University of New York (SUNY) system makes the state a destination for learning and research, attracting students and educators from around the world. It is always a good idea to invest in education and, in this budget, we allocated $1.3 billion for SUNY for both operating expenses and capital expenditures.

“We’ve also prioritized strengthening the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), to help make the possibility of a higher education a reality for more students. The Enacted 2024-25 Budget includes an additional $55.7 million for TAP, increasing the threshold for eligibility from

$80,000 to $125,000 and increasing the minimum award from $500 to $1,000.

“This budget includes historic funding, $250 million, for the Empire AI Consortium at the University at Buffalo. Empire AI will be a non-profit organization to operate and manage a research and computing facility at UB to explore this burgeoning field. The consortium will bring together the brightest minds and skilled professionals from across SUNY and CUNY, as well as private universities such as Cornell, Columbia, and NYU, positioning New York State on the forefront of this new technological frontier. This is a profound vote of confidence in UB as a higher education and research institution in WNY and a flagship university in the SUNY system. This investment and the success of this program will certainly spark growth for the campus and our entire community.

“This budget also increases funding, known as Foundation Aid, for most school districts across Western New York, including the Williamsville (+4.44%), Amherst (+6.26%), and Sweet Home (+6.54%) School Districts. We are also funding a study to update the Foundation Aid formula to better reflect the current needs of area school districts going forward.

“This budget also prioritizes the health of New Yorkers. Across New York State, some hospitals, other healthcare facilities, and nursing homes have been struggling to keep the lights on, let alone provide critical and life-saving care. So, in this year’s state budget, we’ve included $800 million for financially distressed and safety-net hospitals, and $350 million for rate increases for hospitals and nursing homes. Certainly, when it comes to the health and care of our loved ones and ourselves, there is always more we would like to be able to do, but this investment in New York’s medical facilities is a very strong start.

“Throughout this process, I’ve been strongly advocating for a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) and wage enhancement for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) who provide vital care and service to people with disabilities. I’m pleased to report that this budget includes a COLA for nonprofit human services providers. While the budget did not include the wage enhancement, a portion of the COLA has been earmarked for salaries for DSPs and other non-executive employees. I will continue to advocate on behalf of these compassionate and committed professionals until they are fairly and appropriately compensated for the work they do.

“Journalism plays an essential role in our society, and the need for quality local journalism is great. New York State is investing in local journalism by supporting the salaries of local journalists through $30 million in tax credits. This will cover half of the salaries of journalists up to $50,000 each year. While this applies to current staff, this also includes an additional

$5,000 per new hire for local news outlets looking to expand their newsroom.

“This budget also makes long past-due investments to aid families and communities. It includes the first increase in Aid and Incentives for Municipalities (AIM) in 12 years. To ease the tax burden on families, it includes $350 million for the Supplemental Empire State Child Credit. It also implements a $3,000 tax credit for small businesses investing in retail theft prevention. This budget makes significant investments in street, highway, and transit improvements, including $333.2 million for upstate transit. This includes $26 million for the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA). We’ve also allocated funding for the Center for Elder Law and Justice (CELJ) and the University at Buffalo Family Violence and Women’s Rights Clinic. All of these allocations demonstrate our priority to support services and efforts to help individuals, families, and businesses that call New York State home.

“The 2024-2025 Enacted Budget delivers for the people of New York State, and it delivers for our community. It makes important investments in programs and services that we depend on, and helps others to reach their full potential and realize opportunities that may have previously been impossible. It is a demonstration of our commitment to making New York State a better place to live, work, and learn. I look forward to continuing that mission for the remainder of the legislative session, and fighting for resources that our community deserves.”