State budget draws range of comments

New York state legislators approved a record $229 billion budget just over a month late.

Here are some comments from officials about the budget: it delivers in many ways

“These investments are an important step towards a better future for all New Yorkers. We are dedicated to investing in our children by fully funding Foundation Aid, bringing more money to the suburbs for free Pre-K, and further expanding the Child Tax Credit and free school lunches to save families more money.”

— Sen. Kevin Thomas it invests in mental health support

“Unfortunately, this budget falls far short of what New Yorkers deserved — both in terms of the process and in terms of the results. We are now beholden to a budget that was written behind closed doors, is full of policy items and is more than 30 days past due. Despite the many flaws of this nearly $230 billion budget, as Ranking Member on the Senate Mental Health Committee, I was pleased to see a significant investment in mental health.”

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Sen.

Patricia CanzoneriFitzpatrick

it has no tax reductions

“The budget that passed, like all budgets, has good provisions and bad provisions. Among the good are the tweaks to bail reform, a 10 percent increase to public school funding, the restoration of nonpublic school funding and the fact the Legislature defeated Gov. Hochul’s disastrous housing compact. Additionally, amendments to cashless bail policies are a significant step forward in making our neighborhoods safe again. The bad part is that this budget is the largest in state history, contains no tax decreases and was decided behind closed doors resulting in it being more than a month late.”

— Assemblyman Brian Curran