On January 16th, Governor Kathy Hochul released the State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2024-25 Executive Budget, which includes two of NFIB’s top priorities and does not include any increases to personal income or corporate taxes.

The Executive Budget proposes to spend $233 billion in Fiscal Year 2025, a $6 billion increase over Fiscal Year 2024. The largest drivers of state spending are education and healthcare, mostly Medicaid. Medicaid spending alone has increased by 11% over the last year, which has prompted the Governor to look at the Medicaid program and opportunities to bring down costs. New York’s budget was aided by an influx of $6 billion from the federal government to help safety net hospitals.

The Governor has stood by her commitment to not increase income or corporate taxes throughout budget negotiations with the Legislature. The Governor’s budget also includes two of NFIB’s top priorities:

Ending New York’s requirement to provide COVID-specific paid sick leave on July 31, 2024.
Clarifying, in state law, that employers who pay manual workers on a bi-weekly or semi-monthly basis cannot be sued for liquidated damages.

NFIB will continue to pressure legislators on the importance of these issues to the small business community and will keep members informed and updated on the latest in Albany as budget negotiations continue.