Gov. Hochul, state lawmakers reach 'conceptual' agreement on state budget

The governor got her wish with $2.4 billion going to New York City to address the influx of migrants being bused up from southern border states.

Jonathan Gordon

Apr 16, 2024, 12:28 AM

Updated 170 days ago

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Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday afternoon that a "conceptual deal" is done - two weeks beyond the original deadline to have the state's budget in order.
"I promised to fight the right fights for New Yorkers, deliver common sense solutions, and tackle the thorny issues that others might ignore, and that's exactly what we’ve done," Hochul said.
The $247 billion agreement prioritizes many of the governor's top priorities, including housing, crime, education and immigration.
The budget includes new statewide tax incentives to build new multifamily homes and additional dwelling units, includes $650 million for pro-housing certified communities that commit to new housing building targets and will develop 15,000 new units on state-owned sites.
The budget also includes $347 million to combat gun violence, increases penalties against people who commit retail theft and gives law enforcement to shut down illegal cannabis stores for up to a year to keep them closed while their legal cases play out.
The governor did get her wish with $2.4 billion going to New York City to address the influx of migrants being bused up from southern border states. The Hudson Valley has seen some of the overflow of those migrants end up in shelters across the area.
Most notably for a lot of parents and school districts, the governor announced her plan to remove hold-harmless will not make it in this year's budget. That means no school district statewide will see a cut in state aid.
This comes as a major relief for educational leaders and school districts that are finalizing their budgets as early as this week.
"In order to balance a budget you need to know what you have in order to determine what you can provide to students," Yonkers Federation of Teachers President Samatha Rosado-Ciriello said.
Overall the state is investing a record $36 billion in public education.
Both the state senate and assembly still have to vote on the budget to send it to the governor's desk for her final signature but that could be done later this week barring any last-minute hiccups.