My thoughts on the State of the State & the legislative session ahead
On Wednesday, I was in the capital with the rest of the legislature to listen to Gov. Andrew Cuomo present his State of the State address. The governor outlined many of New York’s challenges; including, a $4 billion budget deficit, a $2 billion reduction in federal Medicaid Aid and a new federal tax scheme that will raise many middle income families’ taxes. It is important to note that New York is already the top “donor state” in the nation — contributing $48 billion more annually to the federal government than it gets back and under the new law the State will pay an additional $14 billion per year. The governor outlined in broad strokes possible new taxes (a payroll tax paid by employers and a Stock Transfer Tax) and fees, as well as a possible reduction in the State Personal Income Tax for individuals and families earning between $40,000 and $300,000 per year. With our mass transit and roadway system in dire need of repair and modernization, the governor also alluded to the possibility of tolling East River bridges and other measures to capture revenue for MTA and reduce traffic in Manhattan.
Along with discussing the state’s revenue, the governor highlighted many critically important pieces of legislation that must be passed this year including: codifying a woman’s right to choose, electoral reforms, banning outside income for legislators, closing the LLC Loophole and implementing a campaign finance system, ending cash bail and protecting undocumented New Yorkers.
The governor’s speech was broad and many of the policy points and tax proposals he outlined need to be clarified and specified before I or the legislature can voice our support or opposition.