New York will suspend state gas taxes from June 1 to Sept. 31
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (File Photo)
5 key takeaways from New York’s $220 billion budget deal
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced her office and legislators came to a “conceptual agreement” on this year’s budget Thursday.
While some of the language and fine details are still being worked out, Hochul was able to outline some of the key points of the deal. Here are five of the most important elements of next year’s budget.
Bail Reform
Hochul indicated she succeeded in jamming rollbacks of a 2019 bail reform law through negotiations with the legislature, which overwhelmingly supports bail reform.
Hochul has not yet released the full details for the changes, but said they will allow judges to set bail for certain misdemeanor gun charges and crimes that “cause serious harm.
The changes will also allow bail for repeat offenders and will particularly target shoplifters and other theft charges.
The law eliminated cash bail for most misdemeanors and non-violent felonies in an attempt to keep those who can’t afford bail from being jailed for minor offenses while awaiting trial.
Republicans and conservative Democrats used the law as a scapegoat for rising crime rates despite evidence that bail reform has had no impact on crime or recidivism.
A study from the Brennan Center for Justice, a non-profit connected to the New York University School of Law, found that bail reform has had no impact on violent crime rates.
Across nearly 100,000 cases where someone was released pre-trial due to the change in bail laws between July 2020 and June 2021, only 429 cases led to a rearrest for a violent felony involving a firearm, according to the Albany Times Union. That number represents just 2% of total cases.
Roughly one-fifth of all cases resulted in a re-arrest for misdemeanors or non-violent felonies.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander released a report based on this data that found “the share of people awaiting trial in the community who are rearrested remained nearly identical before and after the implementation of bail reforms.”
Bail reform opponents, including New York City Mayor Eric Adams, pressured Hochul to use the budget to repeal or undermine the law.
She faced backlash from progressives after introducing measures in the budget to rollback elements of the bail reform law, and failed to satisfy conservatives who demanded a full repeal.
Tax relief for the middle class
As the economy strains under the weight of over two years of disruption from coronavirus inflation has soared, the price of food and gas is up, and many New Yorkers are still underemployed, unemployed or underpaid.
Hochul’s tax relief program focused on “middle income” New Yorkers by offering rebates for gas, homeowners and businesses.
Those who don’t own property, don’t drive or don’t have a stake in a business were not included in the tax relief package.
Hochul’s budget allocated $2.2 billion for middle income homeowners, money that will benefit 2.5 million New Yorkers.
In response to high gas prices, New York will suspend state gas taxes from June 1 to Sept. 31.
State infrastructure and public transit projects that rely on gas tax revenue will suffer from the cuts, but car owners, truckers and oil companies will reap the rewards.
“This year’s budget leaves riders stranded on train platforms and at bus stops for far too long but gives a windfall to the oil industry with a pandering gas tax holiday,” said a spokesperson for Riders Alliance. “The governor and legislature should invest our state resources in independence from fossil fuels — not double down on dirty energy that props up authoritarianism.”
The final component of the tax break package will send $250 million to “small businesses.” The criteria for small businesses changes depending on who you ask, so the final version of the budget will need to be released to fully understand who will benefit.
Massive funding increase for healthcare
COVID-19 killed almost one million Americans, destroyed the economy and highlighted the United States’ healthcare shortcomings.
The impotent government response destabilized the country and failed to limit mass death in America.
The budget makes a massive investment in healthcare, with $1.5 billion in bonuses for healthcare workers, $7.4 billion to raise the wages of home health aids, $2.4 billion for healthcare infrastructure and $3.9 billion for hospitals.
Hochul said she hopes the increase in funding for healthcare workers will attract more doctors, nurses and other staff and end the shortage that has been plaguing New York hospitals.
Infrastructure and climate change
The budget makes a $30.8 billion investment in infrastructure, a 40% increase from the last 5-year plan.
Hochul emphasized efforts to build green infrastructure and upgrade climate preparedness, though most of the money will go toward rebuilding existing infrastructure across the state.
New York will invest $4.2 billion in clean water, clean air and green jobs, a $1 billion increase from last year’s budget.
Another $400 million will go toward environmental protection and funding for climate projects, while $500 million will go specifically toward offshore wind projects.© Provided by WINS Radio New Yorkturbines
The wind projects will include turbine manufacturing plants that are part of a plan to build a new clean energy manufacturing industry in New York State.
Hochul hopes the investments will result in the addition of 10,000 new green jobs and will allow dirty energy workers to retrain as clean energy workers.
