The state budget by the numbers
Here are the highlights from the spending plan unveiled by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday.
Governor Cuomo with State Budget Director Robert Mujica. Kevin P. Coughlin / Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
Gov. Andrew Cuomo outlined his vision for the state’s economic recovery from the pandemic last week during a four-part State of the State address that highlighted proposals to accelerate infrastructure projects, legalize recreational marijuana and revive urban life. His budget address on Tuesday offered more details on how he would make all that happen while closing a multibillion-dollar deficit for the upcoming fiscal year.
“New York has been consistently assaulted by the incompetence, fraud and illegality of the federal government,” Cuomo said Tuesday. “The fiscal crisis is legally and ethically their liability.”
The $192.9 billion spending plan unveiled by the governor (here is his budget briefing book) on Tuesday depends on getting up to $15 billion and a repeal of the cap on state and local tax deductions from the federal government. State lawmakers will reveal their own fiscal priorities in the coming weeks. A lot about the state’s finances could change between now and then, especially when it comes to federal funding, but the spending plan released by the governor on Tuesday is the starting point for negotiations that are expected to conclude by the April 1 budget deadline. Here are a few key numbers from the governor’s budget address.
$192.9 billion – Total spending for fiscal year 2021-2022, according to the new executive budget proposal. State lawmakers approved a $192.7 billion budget for the current fiscal year.
$10.2 billion – The decline in state revenues this year compared to projections from February 2020.
$15 billion – The total budget gaps in fiscal years 2021 and 2022, according to the governor, who is requesting that amount in new federal funding.
$3.7 billion – Total tax increases the governor will propose if $15 billion in new federal aid is not approved by the April 1 budget deadline.
$6 billion – Amount of new funding that the state is assuming it will receive from the federal government over the upcoming two years.
5% – The share of the 20% reductions in state aid to local governments in the current fiscal year that the governor proposed to make permanent in his executive budget.
$130 million – The size of a Pandemic Recovery and Restart Program proposed by the governor. This includes $50 million in new aid for restaurants as well as $50 million for a business rehiring tax credit and $30 million to fund a new musical and theatrical tax credit.
$350 million – Projected state revenues in the first year following the legalization of recreational marijuana. Cuomo proposed that $100 million of this revenue should be earmarked for a social equity fund.
$500 million – Expected annual state revenues from legalizing mobile sports betting.
$31.7 billion – Total amount of total school aid proposed by Cuomo, a $2.1 billion increase from the current fiscal year.
$24.2 billion – Total proposed Medicaid spending in the new executive budget.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with details from the governor’s budget briefing book.