Governor Kathy Hochul announced Thursday that an agreement has been reached on the New York State Budget for the 2027 fiscal year.
But, State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie disagrees. He told reporters, “There’s no budget deal,” after Hochul’s announcement.
The existing budget is $268 billion and prioritizes allocating funds to education, clean energy and housing, among other things.
According to Hochul, $40 billion would be allocated to education. This would aid in funding the expansion of UPK and 3-K (Pre-K for three-year-olds) programs statewide, and the growth of the existing SUNY Reconnect program, designed to help adults ages 25-55 earn a first-time associates degree in a high-demand field of study.
A portion of the budget would also go towards land surveying and environmental tests as part of an effort to encourage more new home construction.
Other notable budget lines include Medicaid expenses, which is set to increase by 11.4%. Hochul explained this is due to rising minimum wage, reimbursement costs and increased pharmaceutical expenses among other reasons.
Hochul added that overall, the past month of deliberations surrounding the budget has presented its fair share of challenges, saying, “They were very substantive disagreements, tough choices and powerful special interests trying to influence the outcome.”
Heastie told reporters these disagreements are still being had, “There so many open issues on money where, on all parts of the budget, the Senate seems to sign off. We signed off on nothing major, and this is what I’m (saying) is wrong with the process. Budgets are supposed to be about money, not policy.”
The state legislature passed another budget extender on Thursday to allow the final budget to be printed.
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