Addabbo: Highlights of 2013-2014 New York State Budget Plan

“One Huge Disappointment…the $180 Million Cut to the Office of People with Developmental Disabilities”

• The newly enacted, third straight on-time budget is $135 billion, increasing to about $143 billion when new one-time federal funding for Hurricane Sandy relief and recovery is added in. It closes a budget gap of approximately $1.3 billion without any broad new taxes or fees.
• Spending growth was held to less than two percent, and we were able to cut taxes for small businesses while providing a new, three-year child care tax credit to help families make ends meet. The $350 credit, which will begin next year, will be available to families who have at least one child and who earn between $40,000 and $300,000.
• To help veterans, a new tax credit is being created to encourage businesses to hire former servicemen and servicewomen. This is similar to legislation I have long championed and the credit will help to address unemployment among our veterans. In addition, almost $3 million was added for veterans’ mental health services.
• To help pay for family and small business tax relief, as well as other vital programs in the budget, some taxes on New York’s wealthiest individuals and corporations were extended.
• State aid to education was increased by almost $1 billion, for a statewide total of some $21.1 billion. New York City schools will receive $8.3 billion – an increase of $364 million, or 4.6 percent over last year. However, about $240 million in aid to City schools that was lost when agreement could not be reached on a teacher evaluation plan was not restored. This issue has since been resolved.
• Aid to non-public schools was increased by $13.5 million, with some of that funding to be devoted to school safety initiatives. An additional $25 million was provided in the education budget to expand pre-kindergarten and full-day kindergarten programs.
• SUNY will receive $55 million for a third round of 2020 Program capital projects and CUNY will receive $55 million for a first round of 2020 Program capital project proposals.
• Funding for New York’s libraries was increased by $4 million, representing a 4.9 percent increase from last year. In addition, $14 million was maintained for library construction, and $1.3 million was maintained to help libraries offset the MTA payroll tax.
• The EPIC program to help senior citizens afford expensive prescription drugs was increased by $43.5 million to almost $196 million, and $7 million was added to improve the quality of life for adult care facility residents. Up to $5 million a year will be available to provide promised health insurance benefits to retirees of the defunct New York City Off-Track Betting (OTB) Corporation.
• The Environmental Protection Fund was increased by $19 million to safeguard New York’s air, land and water. No funding was included in the budget to DEC in order to advance hydrofracking and its accompanying environmental and public health risks. An additional $10 million was provided for freight rail, with up to $3 million to be used for a LIRR diesel emission standards upgrade pilot program.
• The budget does not include any language, as initially proposed, to govern the siting of casinos in New York State should voters approve full casino gaming this November through a ballot proposition. This means that all areas of the state would be able to compete for possible casinos in their communities and legislators will be able to better represent the views of their constituents on this issue.
• The spending plan includes a two-year State Department of Transportation capital investment program funded at $7.1 billion to improve New York’s roads and bridges, and almost $4.25 billion for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).
• The spending plan will begin the process of disbursing long-awaited federal Hurricane Sandy aid to help us rebuild and recover from the storm. This revitalization will take many forms, including efforts to ensure that gas stations in New York – including those in Queens – are better equipped to supply needed fuel during emergency situations. As a member of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force on Hurricane Sandy, I am working hard to see that these funds are used effectively and where they are needed most.
• One huge disappointment in the budget was the $180 million cut to the Office of People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD)*. Originally, the cut would have been a full $240 million, which takes into account the loss of federal matching funds. While we were able to restore a small part of the original proposed cut, this reduction in support will be devastating to disabled children, adults, their families, and those who are dedicated to improving the lives of the disabled.  *I voted “no” on this portion of the budget.
• Title XX funding for senior centers was included in the budget.

Now that the State Budget has been enacted, Senator Addabbo pledged that he will continue during the remainder of the 2013 session to try to address these and other issues of importance to his district and the people of New York State as a whole.  “Passage of a timely, responsible, and responsive budget was Job #1 for the Legislature,” he said, “but there is still plenty of room for much hard work to be done.”