By Mark Scott
Albany, NY – New York state has a new budget. Lawmakers at the state Capitol passed the final bills Sunday for a $121 billion dollar spending plan.
Most of a $300 million dollar increase in school aid pushed by the State Senate went to wealthier but high-taxed suburban schools statewide.
There was plenty in the massive budget, which raises spending 7.3 percent by Spitzer's count, for the governor and Democrat-led Assembly to claim as victories, too.
For example, high-need school districts such as Buffalo's received a hefty increase in state aid, courtesy of Governor Spitzer and the Assembly.
Some $1 billion in Medicaid cuts to the politically powerful health care industry was recommended by Spitzer.
"This budget marks a tremendous achievement in focusing government on making smarter, more responsible choices for the future," Spitzer said. "Taken together, these proposals will set New York on a new path, and I applaud the legislature for joining me in this important first step."
Key initiatives in the enacted state budget, according to Spitzer, include:
$1.76 billion in new education funding, bringing total funding to $19.64 billion;
More than $1 billion in cost savings, reducing the growth of Medicaid from an average of eight percent to about one percent;
$165 million over two years for an expansion of the Child Health Plus program, providing access to health coverage for all 400,000 currently uninsured children in New York; and
$1.3 billion in additional property tax relief, including an income-based benefit targeted to middle class homeowners statewide and additional benefits for senior homeowners, the first phase of a three-year plan to provide $5.3 billion in property tax relief.
But not everyone was pleased. The budget contains very few measures addressing the needs of small business, according to Hamburg Republican Jack Quinn, III.
"New York's businesses are fleeing to surrounding states with more attractive business policies, and our young people are following," said Quinn. "However, this budget does nothing to reverse this trend, create jobs, or establish a more attractive business environment."