State Budget Boosts Housing, Clean Water

Education spending, eviction limits also approved

Although the Beacon and Garrison school districts lose funding in the newly enacted state budget, the City of Beacon will be better positioned to qualify for $650 million in housing funding and Metro-North will receive more money to protect the Hudson Line from climate change. 

Those are some of the local impacts of the $237 billion budget for 2024-25 that Gov. Kathy Hochul signed April 20 after reaching an agreement with members of the state Assembly and Senate. 

The agreement, contained in 10 budget bills, allows local governments to pass a “good-cause” law that limits when larger landlords can evict a tenant or refuse to renew a lease. It also restores $250 million for clean-water projects and requires that, as of Jan. 1, employers provide 20 hours of paid prenatal leave.

The Highlands’ two Assembly members — Jonathan Jacobson, a Democrat whose district includes Beacon, and Dana Levenberg, a Democrat whose district includes Philipstown — voted for each of the 10 bills. Sen. Rob Rolison, a Republican whose district includes the Highlands, voted for five of the 10. 

The final product boosts spending for Foundation Aid, the largest source of state aid to school districts, by $934 million. The Legislature rejected Hochul’s proposal to eliminate a provision called “hold harmless” that protects districts from cuts.

Despite the overall spending increase, the Foundation Aid allocations for Beacon ($21 million) and Garrison ($592,000) are equal to 2023-24. But Beacon lost $169,000 in other state aid, while Garrison gained $33,500. Haldane will receive $2.9 million in Foundation Aid, an increase of $120,000, and the district’s overall aid rose by $261,000.

The enacted budget includes legislation introduced by Jacobson that requires all high school seniors to submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form unless they obtain a waiver. “The biggest obstacle to college is the cost,” he said. “The way you get grants and scholarships is to fill out the FAFSA.”

Hochul said state legislators agreed to allow the state to require that municipalities be certified as a “pro-housing” community to apply for $650 million in discretionary funding. To qualify, downstate municipalities must have issued building permits that increased their housing by at least 1 percent in the past year or by 3 percent over the previous three years. Natalie Quinn, Beacon’s planning consultant, told the City Council on April 8 that the city qualifies. 

Beacon and other cities, towns and villages were authorized to pass good-cause legislation that limits when landlords can evict tenants or refuse to renew their leases. In March 2022, Beacon became one of a few municipalities enacting a good-cause law, although a City Court judge struck it down in November, after judges ruled that similar laws passed elsewhere were superseded by state law.

Supporters of good cause now have the imprimatur of the state law, which generally exempts landlords owning up to 10 units but allows municipalities to set their own criteria. The circumstances that will allow landlords to evict or refuse a lease renewal include when: 

• Tenants have arrears that are not due to an “unreasonable” rent increase, which the state defines as an increase of 5 percent plus the annual percentage change in the consumer price index, or 10 percent, whichever is lower; 
• The tenant is violating lease conditions, or causing substantial damage;
• The tenant is committing or permitting a nuisance;
• The landlord wants to convert the property to personal use.

Other highlights from the budget: 

• Hochul and legislators approved $500 million to build 15,000 housing units on state land. The state is considering the site of the shuttered Downstate Correctional Facility in Fishkill. 
• The budget includes $350 million to fund an additional tax credit for families eligible for the Empire State Child Tax Credit.
• The Senate and Assembly restored $250 million for the Clean Water Infrastructure Act, which faced a 50 percent cut in the governor’s budget. The program funds infrastructure upgrades to drinking water systems. 
• The budget allocates $20 million for resiliency projects on Metro-North’s Hudson Line, which has stops in Cold Spring, Garrison and Beacon and has been damaged by flooding and landslides from storms.
• Beacon and other municipalities can now pass local laws granting tax exemption to property owners who build accessory dwelling units. The exemptions would apply to the assessment increase attributed to the unit and total 100 percent for the first five years and decreasing amounts for an additional five years. 
• People who lose properties for unpaid taxes can claim the surplus proceeds if municipalities auction them off. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the practice in New York and other states where counties kept the proceeds. Several people whose properties were sold are suing Dutchess County. 
• Diabetics prescribed insulin no longer have to provide a copayment.
• Newspapers that qualify can claim tax credits of up to $25,000 annually for each local journalist they employ.
• Movie theaters, which are allowed to sell beer and wine, can apply for a license to sell hard liquor, with sales beginning one hour before the first screening and limited to one drink per transaction.