By Dan Murphy
Governor Andrew Cuomo and members of the state legislature passed a budget on April 3 against the backdrop of more than 175,000 New Yorkers infected with COVID-19 and every resident of the State living under stay at home guidelines.
Two different views on the recently passed State budget come from two state legislators representing Westchester: State Senator Shelley Mayer, a democrat, and Assemblyman Kevin Byrne, a republican.
Senator Mayer, who represents Yonkers, Eastchester and the Sound Shore in the 37th District, writes, “My thoughts are with the over 5,400 New Yorkers we have lost due to the coronavirus and their families. These are particularly challenging times for these families saying goodbye to loved ones over video-chat and unable to be with each other while in mourning. We keep you in our thoughts during this crisis.
“In the midst of this State of Emergency, my colleagues and I approved an on time & balanced state budget for FY 2020-2021. This was not the budget we were hoping for at the start of the Legislative Session in January, but we did the best we could under the circumstances with the state facing a $10+ billion budget gap due to the fiscal impact of the coronavirus.
“The federal CARES Act provided much needed support to the state’s education budget, and my colleagues and I were able to use these funds to prevent education funding cuts in the FY 2020-2021 NYS Budget. Every school district’s Foundation Aid funding is the same as it was last year. We also adopted a paid sick leave policy for all workers with minimal impact on small businesses, increased funding for unemployment insurance, and partially rolled-back proposed Medicaid cuts.
“We also came to an agreement on modifications to criminal justice reforms and the state’s use of bail by adding offenses to the existing pool of bail eligible offenses such as hate crime assaults, those accused of repeated serious property crimes, and sex trafficking.
“I am proud to serve as your State Senator and the Chair of the Senate Education Committee. I look forward to being back in Albany and continuing to fight for you and for our public schools. Thank you to Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, my leader, friend & fellow Westchester resident, who has been a principled, smart and compassionate Majority Leader during this tough time.
“Thank you also to Governor Andrew Cuomo for his vision, commitment and strength during very difficult times. We are fortunate to have both of them. We are going through a transformative experience in our nation’s history, and there’s no doubt each of us is feeling the burden. I urge you to follow the science and listen to the regulations. Please continue to do your part and stay home, even though you might be feeling anxious and restless–it’s the right thing to do,” wrote Sen. Mayer, who provided some details to the recently passed state spending plan.
Every school district is held harmless in Foundation Aid and will receive the same amount as in 2019-20—a total state-wide investment of $18.4 billion made possible by the federal CARES Act, the stimulus bill effort led by Senator Chuck Schumer and our NY delegation And, $10 million in new funding for student mental health support grants – our proposal to address persistent complaints about mental health issues.
Health Care: We were able to roll back many of the originally proposed Medicaid cuts, although some of them were enacted, much to my dismay. New Tobacco and vaping control regulations include prohibiting the retail sale of flavored vapor products, unless the product is approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration, and prohibiting the public display of tobacco products, electronic cigarettes, or vapor product advertisements near schools. Penalties for selling tobacco or vape products to minors were increased, and the disclosure of ingredients in vape products is now required.
The state budget also caps the out-of-pocket expenses for a 30 day supply of insulin at $100.
The state budget also addressed the many community members who are struggling due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, with $200 million in additional support through the Child Care Development Block Grant to assist families affected by the public health emergency; $1.05 billion increased funding for Unemployment Insurance (UI), and ensuring all New York employees have between five to seven days (40 to 56 hours, respectively) of sick leave.
Domestic Violence laws were strengthened in the state budget by empowering law enforcement to seize weapons for at least 48 hours when responding to domestic violence incidents. Law enforcement will be authorized to seize firearms that are in plain view when conducting a lawful search in responding to a domestic violence incident.
Additional measures to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers include ensuring District Attorneys follow current practices and Court Clerks promptly provide information on misdemeanor domestic violence convictions to the State Department of Criminal Justice Services to ensure these offenses are easier to identify on a criminal record for gun background checks.
In an Op-Ed, Assemblyman Kevin Byrne writes, “After another marathon budget week in Albany, the Assembly, Senate and Gov. Cuomo finally came to an agreement and finished the state’s 2020-21 budget. Due at midnight on Wednesday, April 1, the complete budget was not passed until approximately 3:30 a.m. on Friday, April 3, once again appropriating billions of dollars from hardworking taxpayers in the dead of the night while most New Yorkers were still fast asleep.
“This so-called ‘budget process’ lacks transparency and forces members of the Legislature to vote on a piecemeal budget without having a complete picture of our state’s spending. Once again, it lacked the transformative changes our state truly needs, even more so today given the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on our health and economy.
“Additionally, this budget flat out rejected the Assembly Minority’s proposed amendment to implement the Small Business Emergency Recovery Act of 2020, which sought to ease the tremendous strain placed on our communities’ small businesses during this difficult time. Like many of our neighbors, I remain concerned for our small businesses suffering through this pandemic. It is my sincere hope the Assembly and Senate Majority conferences will soon see the light and join us in supporting this common sense proposal.
“Like past budgets, while I’m disturbed by Albany’s broken budget process, I am still pleased that many of the initiatives we fought for were included in the final product, including the restoration of funding to the Extreme Winter Recovery program for local roads and infrastructure, and the restoration of funding for United Way’s 211 Call Center;
“The rejection of several executive proposals which would have added more burdens and costs to healthcare providers and facilities, including increasing medical malpractice insurance costs and a new surcharge on Certificate of Need applications to build and/or expand healthcare facilities (all rejected);
• Inclusion of bill language that eliminates the pre-authorization requirement in Medicaid to access Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) to assist people suffering from addiction (similar bill vetoed by the governor in 2019); and
In the end, deal-making behind closed doors with “three people in a room” led to poor decisions which will crush small businesses and siphon away sales tax revenue from county governments to support state spending. It also included other misguided, unrelated policy changes that simply did not belong in a $178 billion state budget. Some of the bad policy changes included:
• Elimination of local control for siting, design and planning of renewable energy facilities;
• Creation of a new board that will undoubtedly limit private investment in research and development to create life-saving medications and vaccines;
• Creation of a new unfunded mandate on employers,forcing them to pay for paid sick leave; and
• Enhanced powers for the state’s top executive to unilaterally cut programs without legislative approval throughout the remaining fiscal year.
“The budget also continued costly programs like the $138.8 million Excelsior Scholarship & Enhanced Tuition Awards, aka ‘Free College’ program, $42.5 million for marketing of economic development initiatives including the state’s failed ‘Start Up NY’ program, as well as the extension of the $420 million ‘Hollywood’ Film Tax credit.
“At the same time, the budget slashed $17 million from the Center for Community Health Program that county governments rely on to support their respective county health departments, a local agency already stretched to the max as we endure through this awful pandemic. The budget also completely eliminated the Adult Cystic Fibrosis Assistance program that had previously helped enable adults with cystic fibrosis to work, receive employer-based health insurance and rely less on the state’s Medicaid program. In the midst of a global pandemic caused by a virus that attacks a person’s respiratory system, I cannot for the life of me understand why our ‘leaders’ in state government cut funding to health departments and elected to cancel a program that saved the state money on its Medicaid program, while assisting New Yorkers suffering from a severe respiratory disease. It is a complete and utter failure.
“These are challenging times to pass any budget, but the budget we passed should have still been about our priorities to improve our state as a whole. Albany’s priorities once again did not match the priorities of the people of New York. That is why, other than voting to pay back our state’s debt obligation, I opposed this year’s budget.
“Our state and its people are facing daunting challenges this year. Rest assured, regardless of the challenge, I will continue to work nonstop for the people of Westchester and Putnam counties. By working together, we will always accomplish more. It is through collaboration, listening to each other and respecting one another that we will be able to build a better state, a safer and healthier state, for all New Yorkers to enjoy,” writes Byrne.
Four major issues that were included in the state budget, legalization of marijuana, bail reform, drivers licenses for undocumented residents, and limited the viability for minor political parties to operate in New York State, we will report on next week.
