Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled her $252 billion state&nbsp;budget that calls for an increase in school aid, middle-class tax cuts and tax rebates. Here&#39;s a look at what else she proposed.&nbsp;

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Region/State

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John Hildebrand and Michael R. Ebert

Long Island schools would get a windfall of nearly $229 million in additional state aid — a 4.6% increase — for the 2025-26 academic year&nbsp;under a budget package proposed Tuesday by Gov. Kathy Hochul. 
The plan, if approved by state legislators later this year, would boost total funding assistance for schools in Nassau and Suffolk counties to $5.2 billion. That's part of a proposed statewide package totaling nearly $37&nbsp;billion.&nbsp; 
Hochul's latest plan is substantially higher than the raise of just over 3% she proposed for the Island at this time last year. That plan, which would have cut aid to 44 districts in the region, was widely protested and eventually dropped by the governor in favor of a more generous package. 
Among local districts that would see major gains under the governor's plan are Oceanside, with a 14.46% aid increase; Valley Stream 24 with 13.25%;&nbsp;Elmont at 10.11%;&nbsp;Middle Country at 9.31% and Wyandanch at&nbsp;9.13%.&nbsp;Seventeen districts, including Port Washington and Montauk, would see their aid decrease under the proposal. 
<h3>Aid formula updated</h3> 
In addition to extra money, Hochul's latest proposal would&nbsp;replace outdated poverty rates&nbsp;from the 2000 census&nbsp;— which have been used to calculate aid to districts — with more more recent figures. An&nbsp;updated formula has long been sought by Island school&nbsp;representatives, who argued &nbsp;the earlier data&nbsp;did not take account of recent demographic changes in the&nbsp;region.&nbsp; 
Hochul and the State Legislature last year signaled a willingness to modernize the aid-distribution formula, earmarking $2 million for the Rockfeller Institute of Government to look into that issue and others. The Albany-based think tank in December <a href="https://www.newsday.com/long-island/education/hochul-education-funding-v1pj5z1c">released a 314-page report</a> outlining recommended changes.&nbsp; 
“This will ensure that state dollars go to students who need them most, &quot; Hochul said Tuesday in her annual budget message. 
Initial reaction to Hochul's 2025-26 package was generally positive&nbsp;on the Island.&nbsp; 
&quot;Overall, it's a very favorable proposal,&quot; said Bob Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association.&nbsp; 
He added, however, that state projections released Tuesday showed 67 districts on the Island out of 122 listed would get minimum&nbsp;&quot;foundation&quot; aid&nbsp;increases of 2% under the governor's plan. 
Foundation&nbsp;aid is&nbsp;the biggest single source of school funding and based largely on districts' level of financial need. Other large forms of aid are reimbursement for expenses such as bus transportation and school-building renovations.&nbsp; 
&quot;We would hope those districts would get a little more to keep up with inflation,&quot; Vecchio added.&nbsp; 
Most recent federal figures show inflation running at 2.9%. 
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Under state law, a final&nbsp;budget agreement is due to be reached by the governor and state legislators by April 1.&nbsp; 
State aid provides about 30% of school revenue&nbsp;in the Nassau-Suffolk region, with most of the remainder raised through local property taxes. School taxation accounts for more than 60% of homeowners' tax bills.&nbsp; &nbsp; 
Hochul's budget makes no mention of the state's so-called &quot;save harmless&quot; formula, which guarantees districts will receive at least as much aid in the coming year as they did in the current year&nbsp;even if their enrollments decline. The governor had proposed last year that &quot;save harmless&quot; be eliminated — a recommendation that raised a political firestorm at the time.&nbsp; 
<h3>Record increases</h3> 
Hochul’s latest school-funding plan follows four years of substantial increases. The most dramatic of those increases came in a record-breaking three-year package designed to settle a legal dispute with New York City. 
Between 2021-22 and 2023-24, school aid statewide rose by nearly $8 billion or 30%, to a total of nearly $34 billion. In Nassau and Suffolk counties, aid increased by $1.6 billion, or nearly 50%, for a total of $4.8 billion. 
For 2024-25, statewide aid grew by another $1.3 billion, or 3.82%, to a total of $35.3 billion. The Island’s share increased by $205.6 million, or 4.24%, to a total of $5 billion. 
When asked about the effects of the extra funding, some&nbsp;school representatives said state aid increases had&nbsp;allowed schools to make improvements they otherwise could not have afforded. Upgrades in recent years have ranged from new school ventilation systems and security measures, to enhanced student services in the form of&nbsp;psychological counseling, after-school tutoring and summer recreation. 
“Over the three years, it was a great help to school districts in building programs, there’s no denying that,” Ryan Ruf, a longtime school business official, said. 
Ruf&nbsp;is an assistant superintendent for business in the Massapequa district and a former president of a Nassau County organization representing school business officials. 
On the other hand, some school representatives observed that while infusions of state aid have resulted in some improvement, they have not eliminated inequalities among districts on the Island in terms of tax burdens and student achievement. 
“That inequity persists,” B.A. Schoen, &nbsp;a regional expert on school funding from Baldwin, said. 
Schoen is a board trustee for the Nassau BOCES and president of an advocacy group known as REFIT, which stands for Reform Educational Financing Inequalities Today.&nbsp; 
Schoen called on the state to go further to amend its school aid formula to make it more favorable to low-income&nbsp;districts.

Long Island

Education

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School aid on Long Island: Hochul proposes 4.6% increase for 2025-26 school year

LI schools would get aid boost under Hochul plan; see how much your district would get

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Michael Gormley and Yancey Roy

ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday released her proposed budget that would increase total spending by 3.6% to $252 billion, including a 4.7% increase in school aid, a middle class tax break and tax rebate checks of as much as $500 to families. 
Overall, Hochul’s proposed budget would increase spending by $8.6 billion. 
Hochul’s budget proposal will now go the State Legislature for review and potential changes. Hochul and leaders of the Democratic-led Senate and Assembly will then negotiate a budget deal, which&nbsp;is due by April 1. 
Hochul also would&nbsp;triple the child tax credit for families as part of a budget she said is dedicated to making New York more affordable. The child tax credit would rise to $1,000 from $330 for families with children under 4 years old and $500 for families with children 4 to 16 years old.&nbsp;That will cost $825 million and help 8.6 million New Yorkers. 
She said the middle class tax break would reduce that tax rate to the lowest in 67 years. 
The budget proposal&nbsp;doesn’t increase any broad-based taxes and uses a $5.3 billion surplus from increased tax revenue. The surplus will partly pay for a 14% increase in spending on the Medicaid health care system for the poor&nbsp;and working poor. The Medicaid increase would total $4.3 billion. 
Hochul also would&nbsp;use revenue from extending a temporary tax rate for five years for New Yorkers with taxable incomes over $2.1 million, worth $5 billion a year in revenue. 
&quot;Bolstered by increased revenues, New York is in a strong financial position,&quot; Hochul said in her budget proposal. &quot;This enables us to sustain vital services while delivering billions in middle-class tax cuts, inflation relief, and a tripled child tax credit.&quot; 
&quot;This year’s budget will put money back in New Yorkers’ pockets and make our streets and subways safer,&quot; Hochul said after presenting her budget.&nbsp; 
Hochul’s proposal drew some early support by Democrats in the State Legislature, as well as some concern from outside Albany. 
&quot;The hell is in the details,&quot; Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) said. &quot;but I would say this budget is a great start. There’s not anything that jumps out at me as problematic.&quot; 
Andrew S. Rein of the independent Citizens Budget Commission noted&nbsp;Hochul’s $252 billion budget proposal is $100 billion more than the budget 10 years ago. 
&quot;The budget continues New York’s habit of using revenue surges and temporary taxes to build its fiscal house of cards higher, which could create a self-inflicted fiscal crunch and weaken the state’s ability to meet New Yorkers’ needs during a future recession or in the face of potential federal cuts. 
The tax breaks, he said, are &quot;too thin to provide meaningful relief.&quot; 
On Long Island, Hochul’s plan would earmark $50 million to expand the state’s Rapid Response Home Repair Program and the Resilient Retrofits Program, which&nbsp;make&nbsp;permanent retrofits and rapid home repairs to respond to future natural disasters. The Hochul administration said this will make for quicker responses &quot;in the wake of disasters and to help a wider spectrum of homeowners and victims.&quot; 
The governor’s budget also would continue funding for the Blue Buffers Buyout Program to encourage voluntary home buyouts in areas most prone to flooding. 
In schools, Hochul proposed $13.5 million more to help schools limit the access of cellphones in classes as part of an effort to limit the distraction. 
Overall, school aid would increase by $1.69 billion to $37.4 billion, pending negotiations with the legislature, which traditionally increases the aid. Rises in school aid are intended to reduce the pressure on school districts to increase local property taxes. 
The state would cover the cost of breakfast and lunch for all public and nonpublic school students at a cost of $340 million. 
Overall, Hochul said $6 billion, or almost 60%, of increased spending, would go to Medicaid and school aid, the two biggest areas of the state budget. 
She faced some partisan opposition to the growth in overall spending from Republicans. 
&quot;New York Democrats should be breaking their runaway spending habits,&quot; Assembly Republican leader Will Barclay (R-Pulaski) said. &quot;Instead, they’re breaking the bank.&quot; 
Other proposals include: 
<ul> 
 <li>Abortion. The budget would continue $25 million in funding to make sure abortion remains accessible statewide, along with $5 million to help build more abortion centers. Hochul also proposes to allow prescriptions for abortion medications used in other states to not include the provider’s name as a way to protect health care professionals from threats and harm.</li> 
 <li>Climate change. Hochul said she is directing more than $1 billion to combat global warming, create jobs and reduce utility bills by encouraging use of cleaner sources than fossil fuels. She includes another $400 million in the Environmental Protection Fund to help fund efforts to mitigate climate change, improve drinking water sources and provide recreational opportunities.</li> 
 <li>Subway safety. She would devote $77 million to fund overtime pay for NYPD officers to patrol trains at night between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., with two officers to a train. The funding would cover six months, followed by another six-month payment by the city. More police would also be assigned to platforms, she said.</li> 
 <li>Child care. She would spend $110 million to help build and renovate child care centers.</li> 
 <li>Free community college for&nbsp;high-demand occupations. The budget provides $47 million to cover the remaining cost of tuition, fees and books for community college students ages 25-55 pursuing select associate’s degrees in high-demand occupations, including nursing, teaching and&nbsp;technology.</li> 
 <li>Northern border. The budget would provide $8 million to combat rise in drug, weapon and currency crimes at the border with Canada.</li> 
 <li> Prison reform. The budget would provide $400 million to accelerate installation of fixed cameras in correctional facilities and body cameras for correction officers and to expand and restructure the Office of Special Investigations. The effort comes after an inmate&nbsp;died after a beating in December at the hands of correction officers that was caught on a body camera video. </li> 
</ul>

stBUDGET250122

Gov. Hochul's proposed budget: School aid up 4.7%, plus a middle-class tax break

Gov. Hochul's proposed budget would raise school aid by 4.7%

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Gov. Kathy Hochul has laid out her state budget proposal, increasing the total spending to $252 billion. It includes a middle-class tax break, tax rebate checks up to $500 to families and a 4.7% increase in school aid.&nbsp;

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Gov. Hochul's 2025 budget proposal 

New York State

Newsday

'It's a major objective'

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Lisa L. Colangelo

Close to 7 million people in New York are projected to be on Medicaid as of March, state officials said, which remains a challenge for its budget plan. There were 7.6 million New Yorkers on Medicaid in November 2023 compared with 6.9 million in November 2024. 
The state-funded portion is budgeted to be $35.7 billion, up from the $35.5 billion projection in 2024, primarily due to long-term care services. 
In addition, a new tax on managed care organizations is expected to bring in $3.7 billion over the next two years. The first installment includes $1.4 billion, of which $500 million will go to cover deficits, $305 million to hospital investment and $200 million for nursing homes, assisted living programs and hospice programs. 
Hochul’s budget plan includes a proposal that would allow paramedics to administer Buprenorphine for opioid addiction. The drug relieves&nbsp;withdrawal symptoms. 
Officials said this would result in a more effective way to treat and save lives, especially in rural areas. It also includes legislation that would give victims of sexual assault access to trained medical forensic examiners at all hospitals and $5 million in drowning prevention by providing a new free learn-to-swim program for children four years of age and younger. 
Another proposal in the budget plan would make it easier for licensed nurses from other states to practice in New York.

Health

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Health: Here's what Gov. Kathy Hochul proposes in her budget for Medicaid

Health: Here's what Gov. Hochul proposes in her budget

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Peter Gill

Gov. Kathy Hochul's proposed budget includes about $6.9 billion for state-owned road and bridge construction and repair, $3 billion toward the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s latest capital plan and boosts to the operating budgets of the MTA and other downstate transit agencies. 
The state Department of Transportation would receive the money in the fourth year of its record $34.1 billion five-year capital plan aimed at improving highways, bridges, rail and other state-owned infrastructure. The budget includes an $800 million increase to make up for decreased purchasing power amid soaring inflation in the highway construction industry. 
However, the state is not similarly boosting its transportation support to local governments, which maintain the majority of the state’s roadways. Funding for the Consolidated Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS) and the Marchiselli program would be maintained at $637.8 million, while local governments would also get $450 million through the Pave Our Potholes, PAVE NY and BRIDGE NY programs. 
The MTA would receive a 3.4% boost in operating funding from the state, from $4.1 billion to $4.2 billion, plus $3 billion toward its 2025-2029 Capital Program, which is still being negotiated with lawmakers. The<a href="https://www.newsday.com/long-island/transportation/mta-capital-cgwmll93"> $68.4 billion plan was announced in September</a> and includes $6 billion for the LIRR over the next five years. 
Non-MTA transit agencies, such as Nassau’s NICE Bus and Suffolk County Transit, would receive $588 million in state aid under Hochul’s budget, a 7% increase. 
The budget also includes legislation that would classify class 3 e-bikes weighing over 100 pounds as limited use motorcycles — which would require a registration and driver’s license to operate — and allowing New York City to set maximum speeds limits for its bicycle lanes.

Transportation

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Transportation: Here's what Gov. Kathy Hochul proposes in her budget for MTA, roads

Transportation: Here's what Gov. Kathy Hochul proposes in her budget

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Tracy Tullis

Gov. Kathy Hochul's budget proposed funding to address some of the consequences of global warming, while postponing sufficient action to curb greenhouse gasses, according to environmental advocates. 
Hochul's budget would allocate $50 million for the Rapid Response Home Repair&nbsp;and Resilient Retrofits programs, which help low- and moderate-income homeowners prepare for and recover from flooding, and a new grant program to fund nature-based solutions such as living shorelines. 
The governor also would dedicate $500 million for clean water infrastructure projects; $125 million over 10 years to the Superfund program; and $400 million for the Environmental Protection Fund, which can be used for projects related to climate change, agriculture, water protection&nbsp;and recreation. 
Hochul said in her state of the state address <a href="https://www.newsday.com/news/region-state/kathy-hochul-state-of-the-state-address-obrfz41d">last week</a> that she was planning a &quot;historic $1 billion investment to further the transition to a zero-emission economy.&quot; 
But her 142-page budget made no mention of &quot;cap and invest,&quot; the program she proposed two years ago as a central strategy for reducing fossil fuels emissions. Cap and invest would set limits on emissions and collect fees from polluters that would be used for renewable energy and other carbon reduction projects. 
In her remarks at a press conference Tuesday, Hochul said the $1 billion was would “basically fund the projects if cap and invest were in place today, so we are really accelerating our growth toward a renewable clean energy environment.” 
Environment&nbsp;groups said the delay in implementing the program would endanger mandated reductions in&nbsp;greenhouse gas emissions&nbsp;under the 2019 climate law. 
&quot;The costs of inaction on climate change are escalating before our eyes and [with] an incoming presidential administration bent on gutting the EPA, state environmental policy has never been more critical,&quot; Julie Tighe, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters, said in a statement. 
Hochul also did not include the HEAT Act in the budget. The plan would cap heating bills for low-income people at 6% of income and end a&nbsp;rule that requires utilities to install new gas hookups, if it's within 100 feet of an existing main,&nbsp;at no cost to the building owner requesting it; instead existing customers pick up the bill.&nbsp;Environmentalists have argued the rule subsidizes fossil fuels&nbsp;and discourages the use of cleaner energy.

Environment

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Environment: Here's what Gov. Kathy Hochul proposes in her budget

Environment: Here's what Hochul proposes in her budget

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James T. Madore

Projects in Suffolk County that involve more than one form of transportation would receive $50 million under Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed 2025-26 state budget. 
The money would “support intermodal infrastructure investments,” according to&nbsp;the 142-page budget book that accompanied the governor’s speech in the Capitol on Tuesday. 
Asked to elaborate on the proposal, Hochul spokesman Gordon Tepper told Newsday there are “no details on this funding as of yet. Should have some specifics in the coming weeks.” 
Hochul also wants to redesign the Regional Economic Development Councils competition to focus on fewer, high-dollar projects. The contest between the state’s 10 regions distributes about $750 million each year. 
The REDCs, established in 2011 by then-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, have in recent years given small amounts to hundreds of projects statewide. The REDCs would again receive $225 million under Hochul’s proposed spending plan. 
Matt Cohen, who serves on the local council as CEO of the Long Island Association business group, said,&nbsp;&quot;The additional funding for transformative projects in the governor’s proposed budget will accelerate efforts to create jobs, expand the tax base&nbsp;and turbo-charge our regional economy.&quot; 
For small businesses, Hochul said she wants to expand the Linked Deposit Program, which offers low-interest bank loans. She would establish a Low-Interest Capital program to “support hundreds of additional small businesses” who cannot be accommodated by the Linked Deposit Program. 
Hochul’s budget also would add $90 million to last year’s Empire Artificial Intelligence Consortium, which is based at the University at Buffalo but includes researchers at Stony Brook University. 
The consortium uses a supercomputer provided by the Simons Foundation. The foundation was established by the late James Harris Simons, founder of the Renaissance Technologies hedge fund in East Setauket and his wife, Marilyn.

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Economic development: What's in Hochul's proposed budget

Economic development: Here's what's in Hochul's proposed budget

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Michael O'Keeffe

The state budget released by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday includes proposals to enhance safety on New York’s subway system, reduce gun violence and combat hate crimes, as well as grants to law-enforcement agencies to purchase police technology. 
Hochul’s budget includes $77 million to partner with New York City to temporarily increase police presence on subway platforms and trains. Police patrols also would&nbsp;be assigned to every overnight train for the next six months. 
The governor’s budget calls for an &quot;historic investment&quot; of $370 million for programs to reduce gun violence. &quot;This investment will continue to allow communities, law enforcement&nbsp;and nonprofit groups to stem gun violence in New York State,&quot; the proposed budget said. 
Hochul also hopes to spend $35 million for the Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes, a program that provides funds for security for organizations at risk of hate crimes because of their ideology, beliefs or mission. The governor also wants $50 million for grants to law-enforcement agencies to purchase technology such as body cameras and license plate readers. 
Hochul’s proposal also includes $25 million for volunteer fire departments on Long Island and elsewhere to renovate or construct stations &quot;equipped to meet the needs of modern firefighting. Her budget also seeks $13 million to create the New York State Crime Analysis and Joint Special Operations Command Center, a first-in-the-nation headquarters that will track crime trends, disseminate intelligence and coordinate responses in real time. 
The budget also would&nbsp;double funding, from $6.5 million to $12.8 million, for rape crisis centers, and more than $400 million to improve security at the state’s correctional facilities.

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Criminal justice: Here's what Hochul proposed in her budget

Criminal justice: What's in Hochul's proposed budget

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Mark Harrington

The state budget Gov.&nbsp;Kathy&nbsp;Hochul unveiled Tuesday&nbsp;proposes spending $1 billion on programs aimed at cutting carbon emissions across the state. 
Among the initiatives: building thermal-energy networks at SUNY campuses, expanding &quot;green transportation,&quot; and retrofitting state buildings with clean-energy alternatives, according to a budget summary that didn’t specify amounts for each initiative. 
Hochul’s budget also proposes $300 million to fund a program to build-out needed power infrastructure to buildings suitable for advanced manufacturing. The plan, called Promote Opportunity with Electric Readiness for Underdeveloped Properties, proposes expediting electric transmission and infrastructure for allocated sites statewide to &quot;supercharge our ability to connect New Yorkers with the advanced manufacturing jobs of the future,&quot; Hochul’s office said. A spokesman didn’t respond to say whether any of those sites are on Long Island. 
The budget also earmarks an unspecified amount for &quot;retrofitting homes and incentivizing the installation of heat pumps&quot; across the state. A spokeswoman for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, which administers the programs, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. 
The budget makes scant mention of offshore wind initiatives, which the state expects to be the primary power supplier over the coming decade. On Monday, the Trump administration announced an executive order that would halt new onshore and offshore wind leases and temporarily halt new permits needed to site the projects in federal waters or lands. 
NYSERDA spokeswoman Deanna Cohen said the agency will &quot;carefully review&quot; the federal actions, but said it was &quot;too soon in the process to determine what impact, if any, federal actions might have New York reaching its ambitious renewable energy targets.&quot;

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Energy: Here's what Hochul proposes in her budget

Energy: What's in Gov. Hochul's proposed budget

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What's in Gov. Kathy Hochul's state budget proposal

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What's in Gov. Hochul's proposed budget

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<a href="https://www.newsday.com/video/newsdaytv-top-stories">Get more on these and other NewsdayTV stories</a>

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On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," two Long Island schools win state basketball titles and 1980s All-Decade Team member Matt Brust joins the show to talk LI hoops history.

SARRA SOUNDS OFF: Two state girls hoops titles, and Matt Brust joins the show

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