SENATOR JOHN W. MANNION SECURES ACCELERATED MIDDLE CLASS TAX CUTS, GAS TAX SUSPENSION, HISTORIC RAISES AND BONUSES FOR HOME CARE WORKERS, LARGEST-EVER INVESTMENT IN CHILD CARE, PRE-K EXPANSION, OVER $1B FOR BROADBAND, OVER $1B FOR FLOOD RISK REDUCTION, A

ALBANY, NY – Senator John W. Mannion (D-Geddes) today heralded the passage of the 2022-2023 New York State budget and highlighted how new state investments will help families and improve lives in Central New York. 

Senator Mannion secured in the state budget an acceleration of middle class tax cuts, a suspension of the gas tax, historic raises and bonuses for home care workers, the largest-ever investment in child care, pre-k expansion, over $1B for broadband, over $1B for flood risk reduction, and enhanced public safety provisions.

“Budgets are about priorities and this budget clearly demonstrates the Senate Majority’s commitment to working families, schools, and public safety. This spending plan will give Central New Yorkers access to affordable childcare, better schools, and more money for people in the healthcare field. Central New Yorkers want and deserve safe neighborhoods which is why I supported giving judges wider discretion to protect the public and deter repeat offenders. I want to thank Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and my colleagues for including my budget priorities - including saving the CDPAP program and the local jobs that come with it -  in the final agreement.”

Additional Mannion budget priorities in the final agreement include $20 million for Dome renovations, saving the CDPAP program and local jobs, funding for I-81, and creation of a new dental training program that benefits people with disabilities.

Budget Highlights:

Affordability

• Accelerates the middle class tax cut; 

• Creation of a personal income tax credit to reduce the net cost of property taxes for overburdened middle-class homeowners, saving homeowners $2.2 Billion

• Creation of a one time Earned Income Tax Credit for individuals with families in the EITC benefits, providing $200 million in credits to families in need

• Provision for a suspension of the motor fuel tax and state sales tax on motor fuel from June 1 to December 31 

• $250 million in assistance for the reduction and elimination of COVID-19 era utility arrears

Child Care

• $1.66 billion funding for child care services:

  • $224 million to increase the eligibility for child care subsidies from 200% of the federal poverty level to 300% immediately. When fully annualized in FY 2024-25, this amount increases to $537 million.

  • $236 million to increase the reimbursement to providers for child care to 80 percent of the market rate. When fully annualized in FY 2024-25, this amount increases to $416 million. Increasing the reimbursement from 69% to 80% would increase the child care subsidies paid to providers from $9,084 to $10,096.

  • $343 million of the Federal Stabilization funds are provided, including $257.3 million for the childcare workforce. Funds would be allocated to providers for employee salary enhancements, establishing retirement accounts, or one time employee bonuses.

  • $832 million to maintain existing subsidies to eligible families.

• Provides an additional $50 million for child care facilities capital projects 

• $750,000 for the NYS Alliance of Boys and Girls Club;

• $1 million for the NYS YMCA foundation;

• $1.5  million  for child care facilitated enrollment demonstration projects in New York City, Erie County, and Onondaga County;

• $5 million in additional funding for the Advantage Afterschool Program, for a total of $33 million;

• Provides an additional $2 million in funding for Child Advocacy Centers, for a total of $7.3 million - two are located in Manlius and Auburn

Expanding Access to Broadband

• $1.45 billion in federal and state funding for broadband projects - Enacts the Working to Implement Reliable and Equitable Deployment of Broadband Act (WIRED Broadband Act), repeal of the right of way fee

Education

• Provides a total State-funded school aid increase of $1.5 billion

• Provides Phase 2 of the three year phase in of Foundation Aid, ensuring that all districts would receive their full Foundation Aid by the 2023-24 school year.

• An additional investment of $125 million for Pre-Kindergarten with a full phase-in over 2 years

  • $100 million via formula to increase the minimum percentage of 4-year-olds that all districts are able to serve

  • $25 million via grant, making half day to full day conversion a permissible use of funds

  • In the 50th Senate District, Full-Day Pre-K programs for 4 year olds will be created in the following school districts: 

    • Baldwinsville

    • Cato-Meridian

    • East Syracuse - Minoa

    • Fayetteville - Manlius

    • Jamesville - Dewitt

    • Lafayette 

    • Marcellus

    • Onondaga

    • Skaneateles

    • Solvay

• An increase of Special Education funding by 11%, an increase of $240 million and a suspension of the annual reconciliation process which will allow the special education programs and schools to utilize this historic increase in funding

• $96.1 million for public libraries an additional $3.5 million in operating aid for libraries

• Increase library construction by $20 million, for a total of $34 million;

• $475,000 for the Magellan Foundation Inc for school administrator training;

• Provides $275,000 for the Auburn Enlarged City School District;

• $5 million for Teacher Centers

• $3.5 million for library operating aid

• $1.5 million for Adult Literacy Education

• $750k for the Dental Grant Program

Business, Manufacturing and Job Creation 

• $1,750,000 for the Manufacturers Association of Central New York for the Manufacturer’s Intermediary Apprenticeship Program; 

• $700,000 for CenterState CEO;

• $100,000 for the Syracuse Jazz Fest Productions, Inc;

• $2 million in Minority and Women-Owned Business Development and Lending Program, an increase of $1.4 million;

• $872,333 for Syracuse University’s Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems Innovations

• $375,000 to the Clarkson SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry Center Of Excellence in Healthy Water Solutions;

• $200 million for shovel ready sites to cultivate a resource of commercial, industrial sites that are readily available to new businesses, established businesses that are considering moving to the state 

• $200 million for the Small Business Seed Funding Grant Program

• $10 million for Arts organizations outside of NYC, including a minimum of $1 million for CNY Arts

• Enhanced Film Tax Credit for Upstate 

• Adds $1.9 million in additional support for the Centers of Excellence (COEs), providing $1 million to each center ($14 million total)

• $15 million for Centers for Advanced Technology (CATs), $1 million per center

• $3.5 million for Tourism Promotion Matching Grant

• Expansion of the Restaurant Return-to-Work Tax Credit, to provide additional aid to restaurants shut down during the pandemic 

• Tier 6 reform to allow vesting within 5 years instead of 10 years in the State and Local Retirement System

• Changes to the overtime calculations for individuals in Tier 6 during the COVID pandemic

Higher Education

• The elimination of the $108 million TAP Gap, with SUNY seeing a $48.8 million reduction in its TAP Gap 

• Allows Part Time Students and Community Colleges students in workforce credentialing programs to access TAP

• Restores $35.1 million for Bundy Aid, general operating support for private colleges

• Additional $60 million for one-time expenditures

• Additional $1.3 million for Educational Opportunity Programs

• Additional $1 million for SUNY Mental Health Services 

• $10 million for Educational Opportunity Centers (EOC)

Disabilities

• Provides $308 million in state share for a 5.4% Cost of Living Adjustment, the largest COLA in a decade

• Provides an up to $3,000 bonus for hazard pay for direct support professionals and clinical staff

• Restores $150,000 for Best Buddies for a peer mentoring and leadership program;

• Restores $150,000 for the Special Olympics New York for the Unified Championship;

• Restore the inpatient reimbursement rate for OPWDD Article 16 clinics

Health

• Protect consumers and jobs in Central New York by ensuring that qualified, local and trusted organizations serve as fiscal intermediaries for the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP)

• Provides up to a $3,000 Hazard Pay Bonus for direct care staff

• Enacts Fair Pay for Home Care to increases the minimum wage of home care workers by $3/hour over two years

• $70 million for debt service relief for SUNY Hospitals, including SUNY Upstate

• $3.69 million for Long Term Care Ombudsman

• Allow volunteer ambulance services to bill insurance plans, such as Medicaid, or emergency calls

• $1.1 million for Area Health Education Centers

• $734,000 for Community Health Advocates Consortium Health

Mental Health

• Investment of 500 inpatient community mental health beds

• Restoration of 100 state operated inpatient mental health beds

• $125,000 for Lifespan of Greater Rochester, Inc. (Vera House)

• $5 million for SUNY and CUNY mental health training initiatives

• $10.2 million to support mental health staffing needs 

• $1.06 million for Comprehensive Care Center for Eating Disorders

• $400,000 for Farmnet

• $10 million for Asian American Pacific Islander crisis intervention 

• $136 million for the Health Care and Mental Hygiene Worker Bonus

Local Government

• Creation of a Statewide Database for Discovery

• $40 million to implement discovery reforms

• $15 million for pretrial services

• $210 million for Aid to Municipalities

• Elimination of the County Sales Tax Intercept for Distressed Hospitals outside of New York City, saving counties $50 million 

• Authorize EMS cost recovery for Volunteer EMS responders and Volunteer Fire Departments, reducing the local tax burden on taxpayers

Criminal Justice/Legal Services

• $3.5 million for Upstate Civil Legal Services 

• $28 million for Gun Violence and Crime Reduction

• $1.5 million for Gun Violence Prevention, Street Outreach, and SNUG Neighborhood Violence Prevention Program 

• $4.2 million Legal Services Assistance Fund

• $75 million in capital funding to support pretrial services, alternatives to incarceration, and discovery programs and services 

• $750,000 for 18-B Counsel

• $4 million in additional funding for Refugee Resettlement, $6 million total

     Environmental

• $100,000 for Onondaga County for mitigation and eradication of water chestnuts along the Seneca River

• Authorizes a $4.2 billion for the “Clean Air, Clean Water, Green Jobs, Environmental Bond Act” to be voted on November 2022. 

  • $1.1 billion for flood risk reduction, an increase of $100 million

  • $650 million for open space and land conservation, an increase of $100 million  

  • $1.5 billion for climate change mitigation, an increase of $800 million, including:

    • $500 million for electric school buses and chargers

  • $650 million for water quality improvement, an increase of $100 million

  • $300 million for additional other green projects, an increase of $100 million

Housing

• $50 million capital projects Public Housing outside of New York City

• Adds $50 million for Land Banks

• Adds $15 million for the Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP)

• $50 million for Public Housing Authorities outside of NYC

• $100 million for the Housing or Neighbors with Dignity Act (HONDA), expanding outside of NYC

• $7 million for the Small Rental Development Initiative 

• Neighborhood and Rural Preservation Programs from $18.2 million to $18.4 million, and includes carve outs of $250k for both Neighborhood and Rural Preservation Coalitions

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