"After weeks of negotiations and six budget extenders, the final state budget ended up right where it started: too much spending, too much regulation, too many taxes and too many reasons for people to leave New York. Delays and dysfunction produced another runaway spending plan in the form of a $229 billion budget that doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of the state’s most pressing issues. 

Bail reform was barely touched. Once again, Majority lawmakers only danced around the edges, with inconsequential changes to bail laws that will not deliver a meaningful solution. If only they were as cautious with energy policy. A future ban on natural gas in most new buildings will drive up utility costs and construction costs and send New York’s energy reliability spiraling down.

This was a time for a course correction, and the state’s dismal outmigration numbers clearly show that we need one. But instead, financial pressure on the state’s small businesses, consumers and localities will only get worse as a result of the programs contained in this spending plan.

While ‘3 Majority lawmakers in a Room’ crafted a budget behind closed doors, millions of private dollars were spent on advertisements promoting the proposals in this budget. Not surprisingly, most of those lofty promises were not met, and the costly PR campaign amounted to more wasteful spending in New York.”