Just after 10 P.M. on Thursday, May 8th, the Legislature finished passing the final FY 2026 state budget. The $254 billion spending plan was 38 days late – the latest state budget in 15 years.
Some highlights from final budget include:
- $2 billion to provide inflation refund checks of $400 for families making up to $150,000, $300 for families making over $150,000 and up to $300,000, $200 for individual tax filers making up to $75,000, and $150 for individual filers earning more than $75,000 and up to $150,000;
- $340 million to provide free school breakfast and lunch for every student in New York;
- Middle-class tax cuts across five of the State’s nine tax brackets. Once the rate change is fully phased in, the middle-class tax cut will deliver hundreds of dollars in average savings to three out of every four taxpayers in the state, cutting rates to their lowest level in nearly 70 years for New Yorkers who file jointly and earn up to $323,000 annually;
- Increasing the Child Tax Credit to $1,000 for children under 4 years old and $500 for children 4-16 years old;
- A $2.2 billion investment to expand access to child care;
- Paying off the state’s unemployment insurance debt;
- Increasing the maximum unemployment benefit from $504 to $869;
- A Payroll Mobility Tax increase for New York City businesses with annual payrolls of $10 million or more;
- A 50% Payroll Mobility tax cut for businesses with payrolls under $1.75 million annually;
- Expanding the standards for which homeless individuals and individuals with mental illness can be involuntarily committed;
- $16.5 million to enhance county-level implementation of Assisted Outpatient Treatment;
- Regulating Buy Now, Pay Later Loans;
- Making it easier for consumers to cancel subscriptions by requiring businesses to notify customers of upcoming renewals and price changes along with clear instructions on how to cancel subscriptions;
- Establishing safeguards for A.I. chatbots known as “A.I. companions;”
- Requiring businesses to clearly indicate when dynamic pricing has been used;
- A bell-to-bell cell phone ban in schools;
- Reforming New York’s discovery laws;
- Creating new penalties for committing crimes while wearing a mask;
- Creating a Housing Access Voucher Program;
- $40 million to support the Homeowner Protection Program;
- Giving the Governor expanded authority to make midyear budget cuts in the case of a recession; and
- Changing the way Lieutenant Governor candidates are elected by eliminating the
primary and having the Governor and Lieutenant Governor elected on a joint ticket
similar to how the President and Vice President are elected.
Now that the state budget has passed, the Legislature will focus on “End-of-Session work” – legislation deemed as priorities by each conference and local bills. However, because the budget was so late, the normal one and half to two-month time period they would normally have to focus on post-budget legislation will be compressed to just one month. Session is scheduled to end on June 12th,, but it’s been reported that Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie has said that, because of the late budget, he would like to add three extra session days, ending on or around June 17th. As of now, there has been no confirmation that three extra days will be added, and it is unknown if the Senate is also interested in adding time.