Special IBANYS Newsletter on Governor's State of the State & Budget Presentation

INDEPENDENT BANKERS ASSOCIATION

OF NEW YORK STATE

IBANYS SPECIAL Newsletter:

Governor Cuomo's State of State

& Budget Presentation

January 14, 2016

Governor Cuomo Delivers State Of The State

& Proposes 2016-17 State Budget

Governor Cuomo delivered his combined 2016 State of the State Message and 2016-17 State Budget Presentation Wednesday afternoon, January 13 to Members of the NYS Legislature, statewide elected officials, cabinet agency heads and public and private sector leaders. He declared the State to be "stronger than at any point in recent history," called his plan "an ambitious agenda" and promised it will be under the state's flexible 2 percent cap.

The Governor's proposed $145 billion state spending plan for the 2016-17 fiscal year includes disaster aid, capital projects and other federal aid. It would increase spending by 1.7 percent over the current adopted budget, keeping to the policy of holding spending under 2 percent increases year-over-year.

The budget includes five different tax cuts, which would cost $444 million and later escalate to $594 million by the 2017-18 fiscal year. It would

divide up over $2 billion in settlement relief funds to a variety of areas, provide $700 million to stabilize the Thruway Authority's finances, $340 million for what a toll "reduction" plan, $200 million on a transportation capital plan, $640 million to provide affordable housing and combat homelessness and $225 million for economic development.

The Governor would also spend an additional $1.4 billion on education aid, an increase of more than 6 percent, bringing education aid to $23.5 billion--short of the $2.9 billion the Board of Regents had sought for school spending.

Overall, education aid would increase by $2.1 billion over the next two years. The proposal also backs a full restoration of cuts imposed by the gap elimination adjustment -- a major priority for Senate Republicans.

The Governor proposed an ethics reform package that includes closeure of the LLC loophole and caps outside income for legislators. He called for a major transportation infrastructure development plan with significant upgrades to mass transit downstate (a new tunnel to New Jersey, a third rail line to the Long Island Rail Road, replacing LaGuardia airport). (However, he offered no details on how the state would pay for the plan.)

The Governor again strongly called for a $15 minimum wage for all state workers, noting: "We can show this nation what real economic justice means.

Among the Governor's other proposals:

Enacting up to 12 weeks of paid leave for workers with a new child or sick relative, effective April 1, 2016 if enacted. All private employees would be covered. It includes job protections and protections against retaliatory actions;
Doubling to $807 million the sum spent on pre-K education;
Creating a state constitutional commission, spending $1 million to study a potential upcoming convention and propose changes to the process.
Expand the state's goal of doing 30 percent of its contracting with minority- and women-owned firms by including municipal governments in the effort;
Establishing a five-year plan to spend $20 billion on affordable and supportive housing, plus other services to benefit the homeless.
Giving responsibility for monitoring homeless shelters in New York City to City Comptroller Stringer, and to State Comptroller DiNapoli statewide;
Supporting the Dream Act, which would allow undocumented immigrants to apply for state financial aid.
Raising the age of criminal responsibility to 18;
Reviving proposed public financing of political campaigns (Senate Republicans have said they will not pass it).

Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (R-LI) gave the official Republican response to the Governor's State of the State and budget presentation, saying the Senate's top

priority would be "Jobs, jobs, jobs." He also said the Senate would address terrorism and heroin addiction, and again called for the Legislature and Governor to make permanent a 2 percent cap on state spending increases in the budget, noting: "It's so important the Senate has already acted this year to establish a spending cap in law. By doing so, we can shore up the state's finances for the long haul and protect the families of tomorrow by the over spending of the past."Senate Republicans indicated they don't see how the Governor plans to fund his proposals in the context of the budget he proposed. Deputy Majority Leader (and former Finance Committee Chairman) John DeFrancisco (R-Syracuse) stated: "I still don't have answers yet on where the money is coming from...There are a lot of dollars being spent on that budget and quite frankly I don't know how it stays under that 2 percent cap...That's really the key issue: Where's the money going to come from?"