2018-2018 NYS Budget - Win, Lose or Draw

Greetings,
 
The recently passed 2018-2019 makes improvements on both policy and revenue items, but falls short of the progressive leadership New York is renowned for throughout the nation and world.
 
My Democratic Conference colleagues and I have been fighting for common sense legislation that will grow the state economy as well as protect the rights of all New Yorkers. The budget negotiations were difficult, but in the end were able to make advancements in the areas of health, housing and education. Though we can and should do more, this gives us a foundation upon which we can build.
 
Sincerely,
James Sanders Jr.
NYS Senator, 10^th District

Wins

• Executive order for independent monitor chosen by NYC Council and tenants for NYCHA housing
• Requires school districts to provide information on how they allocate funding to schools in order to increase transparency
• Children placed in to foster care are allowed to continue to attend their “school of origin”, where they were attending school prior to being placed in to foster care
• Protects New Yorkers from negative federal tax implications with new state tax code
• Establishes a first-in-the-nation opioid stewardship payment on manufacturers and distributors of opioids to fund the fight against the opioid epidemic
• $250 million investment to NYCHA to deliver quality living conditions to tenants

Losses

• Child Victims Act was stripped from the budget and will be “discussed later”
• Common sense gun laws taken off the table
• No early voting, making it difficult for many working class families to participate in their right to have a say in their government
• Failure to pass bail reform is a blow to our state, setting up many who can’t afford bail to sit in prison for minor offenses before they are even charged with a crime, sometimes for years
• No ethics reform to root out corruption
• Failing to pass the DREAM Act is an attack on many hard working young people in our district

Draw

• Sexual Harassment reform was a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done before we can complete this fight
• The second phase of the Excelsior Program is launched, providing free tuition for select students to SUNY/CUNY. This is a commendable initiative but the issue of lower income students being unable to take advantage of this program due to PELL/TAP requirements has yet to be addressed
• MWBE Article 15A received an extension for a year, however real changes that are necessary to continue towards our goal of equality for all New Yorkers have been sidelined