On Thursday, February 19, Governor Kathy Hochul issued 30-day amendments to her Executive Budget proposal, adding more than $2 billion in spending, bringing the total to $262.7 billion, up from the $260 billion originally proposed in January. The largest addition is $1.5 billion in aid to help New York City address a projected budget gap, but the amendments also broaden assistance to other struggling localities.
To bolster cities and towns outside New York City, Hochul tripled temporary municipal assistance to $150 million. Major cities including Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester and Yonkers would each receive $15 million. On top of that, Buffalo is slated to receive an extra $30 million in one-time aid to help close a projected $50 million budget shortfall. The amendments also create a $20 million safety-net fund for fiscally distressed cities, offering support in exchange for state oversight to avoid last-minute rescue loans.
Governor Hochul also restored and expanded healthcare funding after pushback from advocates. Her amendments propose up to $60 million over two years for community health centers, made possible by an extension of a federal health plan tax. The plan also restores tens of millions in matching funds for New York City public health programs and is expected to generate about $60 million annually for those efforts.
On the policy side, Governor Hochul dropped a proposal to expand autonomous vehicle pilot programs upstate. The rollback came after sustained opposition from labor groups representing for-hire drivers and transportation operators who warned that expanding pilot programs without a full regulatory framework could threaten jobs and public safety.
Finally, the Governor strengthened oversight of hospital-insurer disputes by extending the “cooling-off” period to 120 days and requiring state approval to waive it, while reversing a proposed limit on Medicaid coverage for biomarker testing following criticism from cancer advocates.
The next step in the budget process is for the Assembly and Senate to release their individual One-House Budget Proposals, which will happen in mid-March.