The (late) 2022 state budget by the numbers

Albany Democrats have a “conceptual deal” on a new state budget after blowing past an April 1 deadline. Time to see how it all adds up compared to the spending plan proposed by Gov. Kathy Hochul in January. 

A litany of policy proposals got included in the budget, including changes to state bail laws and the temporary legalization of to-go cocktails. The budget though is ultimately a financial document filled with the dollars and cents needed to keep the Empire State chugging along until another fiscal year concludes at the end of next March.

Albany tradition dictates that state lawmakers and the general public will have little time to review finalized budget bills before they will be expected to vote on them, more likely than not, in the wee hours of the morning. We cannot change that – but we can help everyone out with a cheat sheet of some numbers that really stick out. 

$220 billion – The total amount of money in the new state budget compared to the $216.3 billion proposed by Hochul in January. 

$31.5 billion – Total amount of total school aid compared to the $31.2 billion proposed by the governor in January. 

$7 billion – Total amount of new child care expansion over four years.

$4.2 billion – Total amount of an environmental bond act that will go before voters this November. Hochul proposed $4 billion in January.

$600 million – Amount of state support authorized in the state budget to help fund a $1.4 billion stadium for the Buffalo Bills.  

65 - The minimum age for undocumented New Yorkers to be eligible for state-funded health care.

11 - The number of commissioners on the new state ethics watchdog Hochul proposed to replace the “structurally broken” Joint Commission on Public Ethics.

7 – The number of days Albany Democrats are late in passing a budget. The deadline is April 1.

6 – Number of people who will sit on a new panel that will weigh in on whether new downstate casinos will be located. 

3 – The number of years to-go alcohol drinks will be legalized as soon as a budget is signed into law. Hochul had pushed for permanent legalization.

0 – Number of years mayoral control will be extended in the budget. Hochul had requested a four-year extension.