Assemblyman Matt Slater
“New York Democrats’ multi billion dollar allocation to pay a migrant crisis fueled by New York’s sanctuary policies is more than the approved investments in critical areas such as childcare, mental health services, increase in aid for public schools, state road repairs, and support for overworked New Yorkers. This disparity underscores the backwardness of prioritizing migrants over the needs of our taxpayers and local communities. It is unacceptable and truthfully an embarrassment from our state Legislature to put illegal immigrants before hardworking taxpayers,” said Assemblyman Matt Slater, who voted No on the adopted NY State budget.
Slater wrote the following commentary on the adopted budget and the process.
“Since Democrats took control of both houses of the legislature and the Governor’s Office, New York State has increased its spending by $74 billion over the past six years. Meanwhile, our state has led the nation in outmigration, ranked as having the highest taxes and the worst economic outlook of all 50 states. The 2024-2025 budget was an opportunity to recalibrate and correct course but sadly it was business as usual.
While Governor Hochul has been running around the state taking victory laps before the budget was even passed, notice how she avoids talking about property tax relief. That’s because nowhere in this ginormous and far reaching spending plan is any attempt to deliver property tax relief to an overworked and overtaxed state. So while Governor Hochul is giving out high fives she’s really giving taxpayers more of the same: the nation’s highest taxes and worst economic outlook. At least U-Haul will be pleased.
As New Yorkers plan their exits to neighboring states, illegal immigrants will continue to be incentivized to come in thanks in large part to the continued sanctuary state policies that are now being funded by New York taxpayers. In this year’s budget, New York Democrats gave a $2.4 billion dollar handout to pay for the ongoing migrant crisis fueled by New York’s sanctuary policies. Based on the debate I engaged in on the floor of the Assembly, our partners on the other side of the aisle have no idea how much we have already spent, plan on spending or even how many migrants are currently benefiting from taxpayer-funded services. But this much is clear: this budget spends more on services to illegal immigrants than the investments made in childcare, mental health services, or desperately needed state road repairs.
Speaking of our state roads, my office hears more about the poor condition of our infrastructure than any other issue – and rightfully so. Earlier this year, I joined a bipartisan coalition of Hudson Valley state lawmakers to demand that $400 million be included for state roads as part of this year’s budget. Despite overwhelming data (Hudson Valley being rated the worst state roads in New York State), advocacy by building and trades unions, and a bipartisan coalition, Governor Hochul simply refused to approve this desperately needed allocation. So when you hit a pothole on a state road give Governor Hochul a call and thank her 518-474-8390.
Now despite these glaring omissions and disappointments, some positive measures were included in this year’s budget. I was very pleased to see foundation aid fully restored for our public schools as well as avoiding Governor Hochul’s proposed cuts to the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program which our local towns and villages rely on to pave local roads. The flat allocation is better than a cut but once again fails to acknowledge the escalating construction costs and will inevitably force our Highway Superintendents to do more with less.
I was also pleased to see Democrats finally take some action regarding public safety. While I would have loved to have seen all of their pro-criminal policies rolled back there were modest enhancements that do acknowledge the true state affairs in communities across our state. Enhancing penalties for crimes against retail workers, implementing additional judicial safeguards and expanding hate crime offenses are great steps forward but there is still a lot left on the table that will further improve public safety. And of course, despite three police officers being killed in the line of duty in the last month, absolutely nothing was done to enhance protections for our law enforcement officers.
Another win that can be highlighted is cracking down on the illegal sale of cannabis. This is another topic I worked with a bipartisan coalition in the Assembly to address and I am pleased to see both of our measures approved in the final budget which will strengthen the enforcement authority of the Office of Cannabis Management to combat the thousands of unlicensed businesses selling cannabis illegally. The new measures will suspend correlating state licenses to sell lotto, cigarettes, and alcohol, and more importantly, finally allow local law enforcement to act in accordance with local laws our towns will be able to pass.
Looking ahead, I will continue to work with my colleagues to pass common-sense reforms that combat New York’s affordability crisis, enhance public safety, and give everyone an opportunity to succeed, “writes Slater.
