Following the Fiscal Policy Institute’s recent report that New York State ended its 2025 fiscal year with $6 billion in higher-than-projected receipts, pro-business groups are urging the legislature to address the state’s lingering UI debt. In a joint statement, The Business Council of New York State, the Food Industry Alliance of New York, and the National Federation of Independent Business New York said:

“Unlike more than 35 other states that used federal relief funds or state general funds to pay down or eliminate their UI debt, New York remains the only state yet to commit any public funding. This continues to be a significant policy failure that has placed the full burden of debt repayment on our employers for more than five years. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Assembly Labor Committee Chair Harry B. Bronson, and their colleagues included $7 billion in their one-house budget proposal to pay off the entirety of the debt, a commitment that recognizes the negative impacts of five years of increasing UI employer taxes on businesses, their bottom line, and the state’s overall economy. Meaningful dollars must be committed to alleviate this crushing debt. If Albany fails to act again, they are hurting the very businesses that kept New York afloat during the pandemic.”