Alliance Alert: Here’re some predictions about what may be in the Executive Budget Governor Hochul will release next Tuesday. In particular, note the positive references to supportive housing rate hikes, street outreach teams and free community college and the proposals to expand the use of involuntary inpatient and outpatient services that we and an ever-growing list of allies will vehemently oppose.
What Hochul’s budget will and won’t show us Tuesday
And the latest development in the aftermath of Robert L. Brooks’ death at Marcy.
Dan Clark Capital Confidential January 17, 2025
Gov. Kathy Hochul is scheduled to release her executive budget Tuesday.
The current state budget has a projected price tag of $237 billion and funds the state through the end of March. That gives Hochul and lawmakers 10 weeks from Tuesday to strike a deal. No pressure.
The State of the State is more fun. Government leaders from across New York convene to hear a big speech filled with the hopes and dreams of the state’s sitting executive. There were also several musical performances this year.
The executive budget is like the second clause of a sentence. The governor can dish out a bunch of ideas in the State of the State but the budget tells the real story.
That’s because the legislative language behind Hochul’s spending and policy agenda is written into 10 incredibly dense budget bills that are then used as the foundation for negotiations. It’s in those bills that we’ll find the details of Hochul’s proposals and how they would work.
…What we expect to find in Hochul’s budget
There are several items Hochul has either proposed publicly or hinted at that would make it into her budget proposal. The spending plan will give us the full picture.
Here’s a line or two on 10 of those items.
Income tax cuts: Hochul wants to cut income tax rates for the state’s five lowest tax brackets, which cap out at 6%. She has not said what the new rates would be but that’s expected to be laid out in her budget.
Involuntary commitment: Someone can be involuntarily committed to a hospital in New York if they could be at risk of harming themselves or others. Hochul wants to expand that to include people who can’t meet their basic needs but we don’t know the exact language she wants.
School funding: Hochul and lawmakers want to change the formula for how the state funds schools this year. Hochul’s budget will likely show the result she would prefer and how much state aid she wants to send to districts this year.
Smartphones in schools: Hochul did not announce a proposed statewide policy for restricting smartphones in schools but her State of the State book says it will be included in her budget.
Free community college: Students attending community college who want to enter high-demand occupations would have their tuition, books and fees paid for under another proposal but Hochul hasn’t laid out all the careers that would be carved in and how that would work.
Homebuyer policies: Down payment assistance has already been proposed by Hochul but we don’t know how big the pot would be. She’s also proposing restrictions on home purchases by private equity firms but we haven’t seen language.
Supportive housing: New York helps fund supportive housing facilities but the rates that determine the amount of aid vary between two different programs and haven’t been updated recently. Hochul’s budget is expected to show how much more she wants to invest there.
Criminal discovery: Hochul wants to tweak the state’s laws on criminal discovery to streamline the process for prosecutors. Her State of the State book described the changes but we haven’t seen language.
Street outreach teams: These are teams that do direct outreach to people on the street. Hochul has said she wants to dedicate more funding to grow the number of those teams as a way to reduce homelessness and combat addiction.
Climate spending: Hochul plans to propose $1 billion in new spending toward climate change projects and initiatives but we don’t yet know how she wants to divide that money or where it would go.
There are two other large buckets to look out for: what’s not included in Hochul’s budget and what is included but was left out of her State of the State book.