Governor Kathy Hochul has announced that a conceptual agreement has been reached on a New York State budget for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. Her announcement during a news conference Thursday evening in Albany comes nearly a full month after the budget's due date of April 1st. Hochul says the "bold, transformative" budget totals approximately $229 billion and will help make the state more affordable and livable...
Kathy Hochul: about $229 billion
Hochul says the budget will contain improvements in public safety, including a change in the state's bail reform law, which was one of the major sticking points in negotiations. She says the "least restrictive mean standard" of that law will be removed, giving judges more discretion...
Kathy Hochul: will give judges more discretion
There will also be more than $1 billion invested to rebuild the state's mental health system...
Kathy Hochul: investing in mental health
Other highlights of the spending plan include a record $34.5 billion investment for schools, $100 million to support abortion providers, an increase in the minimum wage and indexing future wage increases to inflation.
Click here for more highlights of the budget agreement.
