On March 12 and 13, respectively, the New York Assembly and Senate released their one-house budget bills in response to Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposed $216 billion budget issued on January 18. The budget proposals are crafted based on an expanded revenue consensus arrived at between the Legislature and the Governor projecting revenues of between $800 million and $1.2 billion in excess of those initially predicted in the Governor’s proposed budget for state fiscal year 2022–23.
While the Senate and the Assembly accepted or provided additional funding for many of the programs included in the Governor’s budget, they rejected many other proposals they either opposed or deemed to be exclusively policy-driven (i.e., proposals with no fiscal impact) and therefore not appropriate for inclusion in the state budget. Although the Legislature may have rejected certain policy proposals in their budget bills, we expect several will be restored in the final budget agreement or addressed outside of the budget process through stand-alone legislation. Even with the interest in maintaining a fiscally centered budget negotiation, major issues continue to circle the discussions, including, but not limited to, fuel prices at the gas pump, proposed public safety reforms, child care expansion proposals, expanded gaming licenses in the state, wage increases for home care workers, and excluded worker and tenant relief funding. Also weighing on the minds of legislative leadership and the Governor will be the uncertainties presented by the impact on New York’s economy from the instabilities in Ukraine and Europe.
The Governor, legislative leaders and their staff are currently in negotiations and are expected to deliver an on-time budget by April 1—the start of the state’s fiscal year. The Manatt team has circulated an analysis of the one-house budget proposals and looks forward to providing you with an analysis of the adopted budget in early April. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact any member of the Manatt team if you have any questions.