O’Mara: Hochul's State of the State points to another massive state budget

Albany, N.Y., January 14-—State Senator Tom O’Mara (R,C-Big Flats) today reacted to Governor Kathy Hochul’s 2025 State of the State message to the Legislature by warning that, despite the governor’s emphasis on addressing New York’s affordability crisis, she and the state’s Democrat leaders are continuing to prioritize long-term commitments for higher and higher state spending that will be unaffordable and unsustainable for taxpayers.

O’Mara said Hochul is proposing badly needed tax relief for many New Yorkers at the same time she’s looking to put in place massive increases in long-term state spending. 

“The governor can’t promise permanent, long-term tax relief at the same time she’s looking to continue spending taxpayer dollars and imposing mandates like there’s no tomorrow, and the governor knows it. You can’t have it both ways. Sooner or later the well runs dry and taxpayers are left footing the bill. That’s the way it is in now in New York State and that’s the way it will go on being under the current direction of this state government,” O’Mara said. 

He cautioned that the direction Hochul and legislative leaders are focusing on for the future of New York points to even harder times ahead for state and local taxpayers, small businesses and manufacturers, and already hard-pressed upstate communities, economies, and workers.

O’Mara said, “New York State is not stronger, safer, saner, or more affordable under Governor Hochul and all-Democrat control of the Legislature, and there’s no true turnaround in sight. Governor Hochul puts forth an ‘affordability agenda’ chock-full of giveaways, higher and higher spending commitments, and flashy new programs that will only keep making New York a more expensive state in which to live, work, do business, raise a family, and pay taxes. There will be no let up for the middle class under all-Democrat, one-party control of New York government. The Albany Democrat bottom line ignores the middle class in favor of a politically driven, hard-left roadmap continuing to mandate huge state spending handouts. It will only keep driving this state into the ground economically, keep increasing costs across the board, keep killing jobs and economic opportunities, and keep chasing more and more New York taxpayers and families out of the state because they can't afford to live here anymore."

O’Mara stressed that he looks forward to joining his Senate Republican colleagues throughout the new legislative session to put forth strategies to ensure that upstate regions don't get left behind. At the Capitol yesterday, Senate Republicans unveiled a “Liberate New York” legislative agenda to advance a range of policies focusing on public safety and security, economic growth and job creation, tax relief and regulatory reform, commonsense energy policies and other affordability initiatives to try to reverse New York’s nation-leading population losses.

O’Mara added that he would also work with his legislative colleagues across the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions to keep attention focused on unfunded state mandates, job-killing state regulations, and a state and local tax burden that hurts family budgets and keeps New York’s business climate one of the worst in America for small businesses and manufacturers.

Hochul is scheduled to unveil her 2025-2026 proposed state budget next Tuesday after which O’Mara, the Ranking Member on the Senate Finance Committee, and legislative colleagues will begin conducting public budget hearings on the governor’s plan.