Governor Kathy Hochul last night announced a “conceptual agreement” on an estimated $229 billion budget for fiscal year 2024.
The governor said in a press release she had reached agreement with legislative leaders “to address key priorities” in the 2024 budget.
Hochul’s controversial “housing compact” is officially off the table, as is an MTA payroll tax increase outside of New York City.
In the agreement, according to the governor, are changes to the criminal justice reform laws to provide judges greater discretion to set bail for serious crimes. The state will invest: $347 million in evidence-based gun violence prevention initiatives and $170 million to support the implementation of discovery reform for prosecutors and defenders. The tentative budget deal includes record funding for P-12 schools and higher education, Hochul said, including the largest annual school aid amount of $34.5 billion and full funding of foundation aid.
It also includes increasing the minimum wage in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester to $16 in 2024, with 50-cent increases in 2025 and 2026. Starting in 2027, the state’s minimum wage would increase at a rate determined by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
With a conceptual agreement in place, the legislative houses are expected to pass bills to enact these priorities, Hochul said.
Under the State Constitution, an enacted budget was due by April 1. This is the latest budget in ore than a dozen years.
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