| Home / College Guide / Lawmakers reflect on passage of state budget |
| Posted on Friday, May 09 @ 00:00:42 PDT |
ALBANY, NY (WRGB) — New York now has an enacted FY 2026 budget, and reactions are pouring in from both sides of the aisle.
Asm. John McDonald (D, 108th District):
“I am pleased that the 2025-26 NYS budget has been passed by the Legislature. There is much to discuss, but I want to focus on just a few of the positive items that I focused on in this budget, assisting those I represent and our communities:
Elimination of the Unemployment Trust Fund Debt - This removes an unfair burden for small businesses that they have endured for years and will reduce the number of bills they receive in the future, as well as $7 billion in expenses. The antiquated UI Benefit will be improved for those who may be unemployed in the future, a win-win for business and labor, which is not always customary.
Manual Labor Payroll Issue - Fixing the manual labor payroll issue that was threatening only small businesses and ensuring that manual laborers are paid according to the law, and providing guidance to small businesses to comply without onerous penalties for honest mistakes.
Public Safety
-Meaningful changes to the Discovery laws, which were the priority for District Attorneys, focusing on making sure that cases are not dismissed for technical matters, yet ensuring individuals are provided all relevant information for the case.
-Meaningful changes to the involuntary commitment law to ensure that individuals in a severe behavioral health crisis can connect with stabilization services and wrap-around/follow-up care, which occurs in our health care system, and prevents incarceration of individuals dealing with these challenges. Society expects the government to assist these patients, and I believe this is accomplished in this budget
-A significant change to increase the age of individuals to sit for law enforcement exams from the age of 35 to 43, providing a larger pool of candidates who can choose law enforcement for a career, and enhancing the pool of individuals with lived experience, which is critical as we look at policing today.
Local Government and Infrastructure
-Continuation of Temporary Aid and Incentives for Municipality (AIM) funds ($50 million) for local governments to assist them as they continue to provide services to residents and control their property taxes.
-A 2-year commitment to increase Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS) Aid for our local governments to $50 million/year to help address the costs of road maintenance to benefit all our communities
-Another $500 million for the NYS Clean Water Infrastructure grant program, which is now over $6 billion to help ensure that local communities have clean water.
Opportunities
-Expanding the Gold Star annuity payment to include eligibility for those individuals who died while on active duty. Before this, individuals would have had to die in combat to qualify.
-Creation of the NY Opportunity Promise Scholarship, which helps those individuals age 25-55 who are either unemployed, displaced from work, or seeking to work in sectors where there are workforce shortages, such as nursing, advanced manufacturing, AI, etc.
-Providing relief to school districts who are struggling to comply with the well-intended Electric Vehicle (EV) Bus requirement. Implementation of a waiver system for two years that can be renewed for two more years, with accountability measures, will help districts achieve this goal in a manner that is sensible and cost-effective.
My priorities this year have focused on three simple items that New Yorkers want: Affordability, Safety, and Opportunity. This budget makes significant advancements in these areas, and I look forward to continuing to make further progress.
Senator Peter Oberacker (R, C, 51st District) voiced sharp criticism of the plan, pointing to misplaced priorities, reckless spending, and the continued disregard for rural communities and public safety.
“Let me start by recognizing a few positives,” said Oberacker. “Universal free breakfast and lunch in schools, continued investments in school-based health centers, and $5 million in new grant funding for meat processors are wins I fought hard for, both in committee and on the Senate Floor. These programs directly support families and small businesses in our upstate communities.”
But Oberacker made it clear that those wins were overshadowed by the budget’s larger failures.
“This budget is completely disconnected from the needs of everyday New Yorkers,” he said. “While families are struggling to pay their utility bills and buy groceries, Albany Democrats are busy expanding housing vouchers for illegal migrants and cutting deals behind closed doors.”
Senator Oberacker also condemned the administration’s ongoing efforts to close more state prisons. A move that disproportionately hurts upstate towns.
“This isn’t reform, it’s retreat,” said Oberacker. “Governor Hochul’s policies are gutting correctional facilities, destroying local economies, and ignoring the real crime problems we face. Instead of protecting our communities, she’s doubling down on a dangerous pro-criminal agenda.
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One of the most egregious budget items, according to Oberacker, is a hidden $10 million appropriation for the legal defense of Attorney General Letitia James, who is facing an FBI investigation for mortgage fraud.
“This is $10 million of your money to fund a legal slush fund for the Attorney General. This is money that should be going to fix roads, support farmers, or help small businesses,” Oberacker said. “It’s not just wrong, it’s unethical and borderline corrupt.”
“Once again, the Governor and her allies chose politics over people,” he concluded. “I’ll keep standing up for the 51st District and fighting to bring common sense back to Albany. We need to get back to basics. Safe streets, strong schools, lower taxes, and an economy that works for all of New York.”
Asm. Robert Smullen (R, C, 118th District): “After passing a dozen budget extenders, waiting for more than a month, negotiating behind closed doors and dumping policy issue after policy issue into the mix, Albany Democrats are proud to deliver a bloated FY2025-26 Enacted Budget. This year’s $254 billion budget—$13 billion more than the FY2024-25 Enacted Budget and $77 billion more than the FY2019-20 Enacted Budget when I first took office—is the largest our state has ever passed, yet it does little to address the real needs of Upstate New York.
“While it is a victory that the FY2025-26 Enacted Budget will allow the New York state commissioner of education to grant an additional two-year extension to school districts that are unable to comply with the 2027 deadline to begin purchasing only zero-emission school buses, more must be done to address the significant issues associated with this mandate. This extension needs to be much longer to allow schools more time to transition their bus fleets, and there needs to be an option for school districts to officially opt out of this mandate to preserve their budgets for educational needs.
“I voted ‘no’ on this year’s budget—until the state delivers a budget that addresses the needs of the thousands of families throughout Upstate New York who depend on the Legislature to have their backs, out-of-touch, bloated budgets like this one will continue to drive hardworking New Yorkers out of state for good.”
Asm. Minority Leader Will Barclay: “After passing a dozen budget extenders, waiting for more than a month, negotiating behind closed doors and dumping policy issue after policy issue into the mix, Albany Democrats are proud to deliver a bloated FY2025-26 Enacted Budget.
This year’s $254 billion budget—$13 billion more than the FY2024-25 Enacted Budget and $77 billion more than the FY2019-20 Enacted Budget when I first took office—is the largest our state has ever passed, yet it does little to address the real needs of Upstate New York.
“While it is a victory that the FY2025-26 Enacted Budget will allow the New York state commissioner of education to grant an additional two-year extension to school districts that are unable to comply with the 2027 deadline to begin purchasing only zero-emission school buses, more must be done to address the significant issues associated with this mandate. This extension needs to be much longer to allow schools more time to transition their bus fleets, and there needs to be an option for school districts to officially opt out of this mandate to preserve their budgets for educational needs.
“I voted ‘no’ on this year’s budget—until the state delivers a budget that addresses the needs of the thousands of families throughout Upstate New York who depend on the Legislature to have their backs, out-of-touch, bloated budgets like this one will continue to drive hardworking New Yorkers out of state for good.
”
Sen. Patricia Fahy (D, 46th District) released the following statement upon news that the final pieces of the New York State SFY2025-6 were passed by the State Senate:
“Although this year’s state budget was over a month late, like all budgets, it is the result of numerous compromises—especially as proposed federal cuts remain the largest elephant in the room. First, I’m incredibly proud that the core of our Capital Region and the 46th District, downtown Albany, will receive $400 million in transformative, once-in-a-generation funding. This includes $200 million for downtown revitalization, $150 million for upgrading the New York State Museum, $35 million for the next phase of the reimagining I-787 study, and $1.5 million for addressing public safety in our neighborhoods. I look forward to engaging our community, stakeholders, and residents as we move forward with this funding, and make no mistake: together, these initiatives will usher in a new day for the Capital Region, the impacts of which will be felt for years, if not generations, to come if we get it right.
New Yorkers and Capital Region residents, however, continue to struggle with a worsening affordability crisis, the largest tax increase in American history in the form of looming tariffs, a volatile stock market, and a housing crisis that shows few signs of abating.
That’s why I’m proud that this budget invests in several programs and initiatives that will help families and workers make ends meet, including:
Additionally, we adopted measures to limit institutional investors from purchasing one- and two-family homes, increasing homeownership opportunities. We must, however, incentivize the build-out of more housing units, improve access to first-time homebuyer programs for aspiring homeowners, and do more to comprehensively address the cost and availability of housing.
As the new Chair of the Senate Disabilities Committee, I’m worried that we’re continuing a pattern of decades-long disinvestment by omitting wage increases for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs). Our human services and homecare workforce is in crisis—many providers continue to experience extremely high turnover primarily due to low and stagnant wages, and the industry’s employment vacancy rate stands at approximately 20%. While a 2.6% increase falls short, I’m committed to meaningfully investing in living wages for these essential workers. Despite this, I am pleased to see the expansion and extension of the Workers with Disabilities Tax Credit, raising it to $5,000 and extending it through 2028.
I’m also pleased that we’re increasing our commitment to funding the state’s share of Medicaid funding, as the Trump administration proposes billions of dollars in cuts that will harm the most vulnerable and New Yorkers living with disabilities disproportionately.
When it comes to public safety, it’s vital that New Yorkers feel safe on our streets. That’s why I supported tightening up our state’s discovery law to ensure domestic violence and other serious crimes are not dismissed arbitrarily or on technicalities. I also pushed for changes to our involuntary commitment standards that will allow struggling individuals in our communities to receive the critical medical and mental healthcare they need. I’m also encouraged by the first-ever investment in the creation of community-based, peer-led local behavior health crisis response teams as part of a Daniel’s Law pilot program to help connect individuals who are experiencing a mental health crisis with concerted and tailored support and services.
Locally, I’m proud that our efforts to secure a fair, 25-year retirement plan for Department of Military and Naval Affairs (DMNA) firefighters at the Stratton Air National Guard Base in our district were successful and will finally mean that their benefits reflect those of other firefighters across the state.
Furthermore, SUNY police officers, Forest Rangers, and environmental conservation officers will also finally receive a statutory 20-year retirement plan, putting them on par with other law enforcement officers across the state, which will assist with recruitment and retention. To help our towns, villages, and cities keep costs low for taxpayers and residents, the first increase in Aid to Municipality funding in more than a decade was continued this year.
We’re also expanding critical investments in the CHIPS program with an additional $100 million over the originally proposed $1 billion, which helps maintain our communities’ roads and transportation infrastructure.
As the federal government proposes eliminating the U.S. Department of Education and cutting vital funding to school districts, New York is investing a record amount of funding in our P-12 public school system and student and teacher success with a record over $26 billion in foundation aid. I’m proud to support a bell-to-bell cell phone ban in schools that will allow teachers to teach and students to learn, with necessary exceptions. To strengthen Capital Region BOCES and the critical CTE and apprenticeship opportunities and education that they provide, for the first time in more than 30 years, we’re raising the salary reimbursement cap to allow districts to hire more qualified teachers and meet increased student demand.
Giving school districts more time and flexibility to meet EV school bus mandates and work with the state to meet these goals will ensure that taxpayers aren’t shouldering the burden of a clean energy transition alone when it comes to clean transportation and air for students.
When it comes to higher education, as the former Chair of the Higher Education Committee in the Assembly, a true standout in this budget is the free community college program–the NY Opportunity Promise Scholarship Program–for 25-55 year olds in high-demand careers, while continuing previous progress by increasing funding for SUNY and CUNY funding to keep our colleges and universities competitive. I’m also pleased to see a much-needed increase in community college operating aid, ensuring that we’re opening the doors to higher education for more and more people in our Capital Region and state.
When it comes to addressing the transcendent threat of our time, climate change, I’m pleased that we are helping ratepayers and homeowners afford the rising cost of energy through an energy affordability program and assistance to acquire clean technology to retrofit homes. A multi-million dollar investment will ensure that we’re replacing lead pipes and delivering clean, contaminant-free drinking water to every household in the Capital Region.
We’re investing the most ever in our Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), with an additional $5 million to be used locally, helping upgrade the Albany Pine Bush’s Discovery Center to improve access to the Pine Bush and an ecologically rare region.
Despite these investments, I remain deeply troubled that we are once again failing to adequately leverage the largest public investment in our Capital Region in decades—the $1.7 billion Wadsworth project at the Harriman State Office Campus, to build housing and reserve commercial or retail space on at least 7 acres of the 27-acre project site under legislation (S.1613) I’ve proposed. We cannot continue to double down on the 1960s and miss this opportunity to build more housing and connect our surrounding neighborhoods with a redeveloped and walkable Harriman Campus, rather than continuing it in perpetuity as Albany’s Uptown Parking Lot District.
Finally, there are dire infrastructure and facility needs at St. Mary’s Hospital in my district. While this funding did not make it into the final budget, I remain committed to ensuring that our hospitals serving rural areas aren’t left behind.
As the threat of massive federal cuts, looming tariffs, and fears driving a volatile stock market continue to grow, New Yorkers, their pocketbooks, and their families will be the ones hit the hardest.
Despite some key omissions, I’m pleased that this budget delivers some targeted relief for Capital Region residents, and I commend Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and my legislative colleagues for crafting an overdue, but balanced fiscal plan amidst a number of fiscal challenges facing our state and nation.”
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