Governor Cuomo and state lawmakers have finally come to a
close on a settled state budget for 2015-2016. Just days before the deadline of
April 1st, the new state budget will include education reforms, new
ethics measures and more. This is the fifth year in a row for New York State to
be releasing their budget on time.
Although the budget still needs to be formally approved by
lawmakers, it is still uncertain on what the budget will consist of until it is
approved, but we do know that governor Cuomo proposed a $150 billion spending
plan.
Unfortunately Cuomo was forced to drop some of his proposals
in order to get the budget approved before April 1st. He dropped his
proposal to increase the minimum wage, and a plan to help provided tuition aid
to students called the Dream
Act. He also dropped his proposal for a tax credit to help with high
property taxes, policies on sexual assault, and new oversight for cases against
unarmed citizens killed by police officers.
Within the new budget the state was able to agree on where
to spend some their extra $5.4 Billion that they had received from settlements
with financial institutions. The governor’s office stated that $1.5 billion of
the money will be spent towards economic development programs, and $500 will be
spent towards Cuomo’s proposal for expanding broadband Internet statewide.
Since state lawmakers have not approved the budget, information
being released is scarce. What is included in this year’s budget is a $1.6
billion increase in education aid statewide. Within this agreement it will make
it more difficult for teachers to obtain tenure. Also schools that show low performance
levels will have a length of time to improve or else they will have to appoint
new management.
As the week goes on and lawmakers approve the budget,
details on what is included in this year’s budget will follow.
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