Cuomo Announces Budget Agreement, Senate and Assembly Expected to Vote on it Tonight

   The budget was due on April 1, but after hammering out many details, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie finally announced today that they have completed the final New York state budget for the 2022 fiscal year.

  The New York Senate and state Assembly are expected to vote on and pass the budget bills tonight, which, because the budget was passed, late could mean that state workers could receive their paychecks late.

   In the case that the chambers’ debates go past midnight, both houses will also pass a two-day extender to keep New York’s state payroll operating.  

   “The Enacted Budget closes the deficit and invests in the ongoing response to the pandemic and recovery efforts,” Gov. Cuomo said in a press release.

      "New York was ambushed early and hit hardest by COVID, devastating our economy and requiring urgent and unprecedented emergency spending to manage the pandemic," Gov. Cuomo said. "Thanks to the state's strong fiscal management and relentless pursuit to secure the federal support that the pandemic demanded, we not only balanced our budget, we are also making historic investments to reimagine, rebuild and renew New York in the aftermath of the worst health and economic crisis in a century. 

    Among the major legislative priorities of the final budget include a record $29.5 billion in aid that will go to schools, $29 million that is designated for “green economy investments,” $2.4 billion for rent and homeowner relief, $2.4 billion for childcare, and $1 billion for small business recovery.

   "Budgets are a statement of values, and in my two decades of service to the people of New York I can't think of a more far-reaching and impactful budget than this.” Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said. “It meets longstanding goals of our Assembly Majority and addresses the historic inequities that have existed for too long."

(Don Pollard / Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)