Albany’s biggest battle of the year started in earnest last week, when the state Assembly and Senate released their counters to Governor Kathy Hochul’s budget proposal. At stake: how the state will spend more than $250 billion, determining everything from funding for schools to oversight of prisons, the taxes paid by millionaires to the wages paid to caregivers.
New York’s budget negotiations have been called the least transparent in the nation. When she took office, Hochul vowed to end the era of decision-making by “three men in a room” — yet the process remains as opaque as ever, and the governor told reporters last week that she “will not be negotiating outside the room where I meet the leaders” of the legislature.
As a result, it’s difficult for ordinary New Yorkers and Albany insiders alike to understand what’s really at play. That’s where New York Focus comes in. We spent the last week poring over the governor, state Senate, and state Assembly’s budget proposals. In the chart below, you can see where each party stands on the highest-stakes issues. Below that, you can find written descriptions using the drop-down menus.
Reeling from plunging turnout for the Democratic Party in last year’s elections, New York’s leaders vowed to give voters more reason to believe that the one-party state government can deliver for them. “The days of incrementalism are over,” said a top Senate leader. “I’d like to see more dedication to solving problems holistically than just like, ‘well, let’s do 10 percent of it now and see if we can do more next year.’ That kind of stuff is what people don’t like about government.”
Do this year’s budget proposals meet that bar? You be the judge.