Budget Increases School Aid and Begins a Phase-in of the Foundation Aid the State’s Struggling School Districts Need to Provide a Good Education
Brindisi: “This spending plan will help millions of New Yorkers, by creating a fairer tax structure, and helping boost wages for many New Yorker health care workers”
Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi says the State Assembly’s proposed ‘Families First’ Budget will make much needed changes to the state’s tax structure benefitting working families, while at the same time helping boost wages for many of New York’s direct care workers. The $153.8 billion spending plan for 2017-2018 also expands the Tuition Assistance Program, making college more affordable for New York families.
“This spending plan will help millions of New Yorkers, by making much-needed changes to the tax structure; boosting wages for many direct care workers, and making the goal of a college education more attainable for middle and low-income families. We are also continuing the Assembly’s commitment to helping improve services to veterans and the elderly, as well as providing a much-needed increase to help communities make repairs to roads and bridges,” Brindisi said.
Brindisi says the Assembly’s 2017-2018 spending plan:
- Continues a gradual reduction in personal income taxes for middle income wage earners that began last year. When fully implemented, the tax reductions will benefit about six million New Yorkers;
- Allocates $26.5 billion in school aid, an increase of $1 billion, or 7.4 percent, and rejects the Executive Branch’s repeal of the Foundation Aid formula, beginning a four-year phase-in of the state’s obligation to its neediest school districts;
- Promotes college affordability by increasing funding for opportunity programs, expanding the Tuition Assistance Program, and also including a new refundable credit for interest on student loans. It proposes exploring options for refinancing student loan debt for New York residents and provides more than $1.4 billion in capital investments at public colleges and universities;
- Begins a six-year plan to provide an initial $45 million to create a living wage for direct care workers. This is designed to ease the burden service providers often have finding quality direct care professional staff, helping keep health care facilities safe and properly staffed, while also providing a much needed wage increase for the people who care for some of the state’s most vulnerable citizens;
- Invests $700 million in capital funding for the state’s health care and community-based providers, and includes over $79 million to combat heroin and opioid addiction in our communities;
- Includes $1 million for Veterans Treatment Courts, which are specialized courts for veterans facing lesser criminal charges that are designed to prevent veterans with mental health issues from being inappropriately incarcerated. The Assembly budget also includes $675,000 in funding or various veterans’ programs;
- An additional $50 million in Consolidated Highway Improvement Programs (CHIPs) funds to help communities keep their roads and bridges in good repair. The budget also includes allocations for the Pave NY Program, which helps municipalities to reconstruct local highways and roads;
- $508 million in operating aid for upstate and non MTA transit systems, and $114.5 million for the Department of Transportation’s Capital Plan for non-MTA capital projects, which is an increase of $3 million above the Executive Budget proposal;
- Includes major investments in funding for important senior programs and services, including funding to provide resources to help seniors handle the cost of prescription drugs, and to expand community services for the elderly;
- Creates the office of the Utility Consumer Advocate, which would represent the interests of residential utility customers who have issues related to billing or service.