What’s in the New York State Budget?

Here’s everything you need to know

Nearly four months after Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled her proposed budget, lawmakers on May 9 passed a $254 billion final agreement — after having just a few days to comb through thousands of pages of fine print.

The largest budget in state history came in a couple billion dollars higher than Hochul proposed in January, but several billion less than the Senate and Assembly suggested in their one-house proposals.

Two of the budget’s biggest sticking points — rolling back discovery reforms and expanding involuntary commitment — made it through, as did a provision to restrict mask-wearing in public. The Legislature avoided deep cuts to social service programs that are likely to be first on President Donald Trump’s chopping block.

Budget negotiations are opaque, even for the people who participate in them. This year’s process drew particular ire from legislators and advocates alike: State Sen. James Skoufis, a Democrat from Orange County, blasted the governor for running “roughshod over a legislature that is effectively relegated to making suggestions and pleading for scraps.”

Assembly Member Dana Levenberg, a Democrat whose district includes Philipstown, said on May 9 that “the good in it certainly outweighs the bad” in explaining her support for the budget. “There are many things in this budget that do positively reflect our values,” she said, citing initiatives that included funding for school meals, housing vouchers, childcare subsidies and payments to low-income families for new babies. “I am a ‘yes’ for all of that.”

But Levenberg criticized the last-minute insertion of language easing enforcement of state regulations requiring that religious and independent schools provide an education that is “substantially equivalent” to public schools. The change is seen as acquiescence to lobbying by Hasidic communities, which have been accused of neglecting basic academics in their yeshivas.

“Our state constitution says that all students, no matter where they come from or what school they attend or who educates them, are entitled to a sound basic education,” said Levenberg. “Substantial equivalency is how we protect that important constitutional right.”

The long delay in approving this year’s budget means legislators have less than a month in the session, which ends June 12, for everything else.

Here are highlights of the enacted budget:

Fiscal policy

Households with incomes below $323,000 will see their taxes cut by 0.2 percent, part of Hochul’s “affordability agenda.” In addition, about 8.2 million households (including 924,000 in the Mid-Hudson region) will receive an “inflation rebate” check for $150 to $400.

This year, families with kids under 4 will see the maximum child tax credit they can receive tripled, from $330 to $1,000 per child. Starting next year, families with children aged 4 to 16 will see a small bump up to $500.

After building its savings to record levels, the state will use $8 billion from its rainy day fund to pay off its debt to the federal government for unemployment checks New Yorkers received during the pandemic. It will also put some of the money into the unemployment trust to make it solvent.

Housing

The budget did not include any significant measures to address the housing shortage. Many areas, particularly in New York City’s suburbs, use restrictive codes to limit or ban new housing. Suburban lawmakers have fiercely resisted attempts to shift this status quo.

The budget includes a measure, proposed by Hochul, to ban private equity firms and other institutional investors from bidding on single- or two-family homes until they’ve been on the market for 90 days. The budget also bars large investors from accessing some tax benefits associated with home ownership. These provisions are meant to make home ownership more accessible to regular households.

A proposed ban on algorithmic software used to set rents did not make it into the budget after both chambers rejected it. Some housing experts and the U.S. Department of Justice claim that the software functions as a monopoly and inflates prices for tenants.

The budget allocates $50 million for low-interest loans to developers who include affordable housing in new buildings outside of New York City. The money is intended to be recycled: Once a developer pays it back, it can be lent out again.

The budget sets aside $50 million to create a new housing voucher program that will help homeless individuals and families rent apartments and assist those at risk of homelessness. Tenant and homeless advocates had sought $250 million.

How They Voted on the Budget

The Highlands are represented in the state Senate by Rob Rolison, a Republican, and in the Assembly by Dana Levenberg, a Democrat (whose district includes Philipstown) and Jonathan Jacobson, a Democrat (whose district includes Beacon).

Health and Mental Hygiene (S3007C)
Passed by Senate 42-20 | Rolison Yes
Passed by Assembly 101-49 | Jacobson Yes Levenberg Yes

Public Protection and General Government (A3005C)
Passed by Senate 41-21 | Rolison No
Passed by Assembly 104-46 | Jacobson Yes Levenberg Yes

Education, Labor, Housing and Family Assistance (S3006C)
Passed by Senate 44-18 | Rolison Yes
Passed by Assembly 112-37 | Jacobson Yes Levenberg Yes

Taxes and Business (A3009C)
Passed by Senate 35-27 | Rolison No
Passed by Assembly 103-46 | Jacobson Yes Levenberg Yes

Transportation, Economic Development, Environment (S3008C)
Passed by Senate 40-22 | Rolison No
Passed by Assembly 103-47 | Jacobson Yes Levenberg Yes

Criminal justice

Hochul targeted the process known as discovery by which prosecutors share the evidence they have against criminal defendants. Her proposal would have given prosecutors more leeway to decide what to share and made it harder for judges to dismiss cases over discovery violations, but neither the Assembly nor Senate included discovery changes in their budget counterproposals. Negotiations significantly held up the budget. While Hochul did win some changes, the budget language indicates that her victory was less sweeping than how she characterized the deal.

Under state law, police are allowed to take someone experiencing a mental health crisis to the hospital against their will if officers assess that the person poses a risk to themselves or others. Hochul pushed to expand those parameters, and the budget allows involuntary commitment if a person is “at substantial risk of harm due to their inability to meet basic needs like food, shelter, or medical care.” The Legislature altered Hochul’s proposal so that ambulances, not police, transport those committed to a hospital. The changes also require hospitals to provide more assistance upon a person’s release.

The governor and both chambers proposed requiring corrections officers to wear body cameras and turn them on when interacting with prisoners. The final agreement requires corrections officers and security supervisors to wear body cameras (and make sure they’re on) “at all times” on duty.

Climate

For the first time, New York is devoting a meaningful sum from its general budget — $1 billion — to fight climate change. About half of the money will go toward cutting pollution from buildings, with an emphasis on “thermal energy networks,” which allow electrification of heating and cooling at a neighborhood scale. Another $250 million or so will help local governments and businesses pay for electric vehicles and the charging infrastructure needed to support them, especially school buses, trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles. And $200 million will go toward grid upgrades and public renewable energy projects, including those from the New York Power Authority and municipalities. That leaves about $100 million for the administration to move around.

For the third year running, the flagship climate legislation known as the NY HEAT Act failed to make it into the budget. The Senate was alone in pushing to include it this year, and it did not gain much traction in budget talks. The legislation, which would allow the state to gradually transition homes off fossil fuels, remains a priority for green groups.

For the seventh year straight, New York will put $500 million toward cleaning up drinking water. That money will help fund a broad swath of projects, including upgrades at sewage treatment plants, replacing leaky pipes, testing for “forever chemicals” and managing road salt. The Senate and Assembly both tried to increase the funding — in part by dedicating $100 million to replacing lead pipes — but were rebuffed.

Another flagship program, the Environmental Protection Fund, will get a slight boost this year — to $425 million, up from $400 million. It’s a smaller increase than the Senate and Assembly sought but still means the state will have a record amount to spend on conserving its lands and waters.

A $5,000 credit for homeowners who install solar has not seen an increase since 2006. The Assembly and Senate wanted to increase the credit to $10,000 and also make it easier for co-op and low-income residents to receive. The reforms did not make it into the final budget, although similar reforms to tax credits for geothermal heating systems (doubling them to $10,000 and making them refundable) did make the cut. To date, New York’s solar subsidies have gone disproportionately to high-income homeowners.

Education

The state allocated $36 billion for education, on par with last year’s budget. Of that, $26.4 billion will go toward Foundation Aid, the formula the state uses to distribute most aid to schools. That’s an increase of more than $1 billion. The budget also updated the formula for the first time since its implementation in 2007 by changing how student poverty is measured and adding more funding for English-language learners.

Beginning in the fall, the state will require public school districts to adopt full-day, “bell-to-bell” restrictions on smartphones and internet-enabled devices at every grade level, including during lunch and study halls. Haldane High School in September 2023 began requiring students to stow their phones in a restricted area during class and the Garrison School and Beacon’s middle and high schools followed suit last fall. But the districts do not have full-day bans. Districts will develop their own storage plans and alternative methods for parents to reach students. The policy includes exemptions for students with medical conditions or who use phones for translation, family caregiving or emergencies.

Students will have access to free breakfast and lunch thanks to a statewide universal free meals program. About 90 percent of students were covered in 2024-25 and the new funding will cover the rest.

Students aged 25 to 55 who do not have a college degree can attend community college free if they enroll in certain programs among high-demand fields, such as technology, cybersecurity, nursing or teaching.

Search database

A searchable database created by New York Focus breaks down what was proposed and what made it in this year’s budget among key topics. Search or scroll through our interactive database that shows what the Assembly, Senate, and governor agreed to fund in the 2025 budget.

A version of this story originally appeared in New York Focus, a nonprofit news publication investigating power in New York. Sign up for its newsletter here.