“Don’t tell me what you value. Show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value.” Then Vice President, now current President Joe Biden.

“A budget is a moral document.” Vice President Mike Pence

Dear Friends,

Another budget season in Albany is coming to a close. On Wednesday, April 8th, my Senate colleagues and I completed debate and voting on the 2021-22 New York State budget. The Assembly followed suit, and we are now awaiting the Governor’s signature on what is, without a doubt, an historic budget which will have tremendous benefits for the people of New York. 

As the Chair of the Senate Education Committee, I am first and foremost incredibly proud of what we have achieved for public education, and I know it will make a positive difference in the lives of our children. Despite the on-going challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, this excellent budget also makes essential investments to build our economy back stronger and to protect middle class taxpayers, help small businesses recover, protect our environment, provide an ongoing source of revenue to meet our obligation to fully fund our schools, and assist those of our most vulnerable neighbors who received no help whatsoever during this terrible period. This is a budget that puts people at its center, and takes its role as a moral document seriously. As a public servant, I am grateful for that and will continue to work hard to make sure that the people of New York, and especially the people of the 37th District, are well served by this budget and all our actions.  

As always, if there is anything my office can assist you with, please don't hesitate to email me at smayer@nysenate.gov or call (914) 934-5250.

Warm regards,
Shelley B. Mayer
State Senator
37th District

HISTORIC INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION

My Senate colleagues and I, under the leadership of Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, successfully fought for the full funding of Foundation Aid (the essential state funding of public education) that has been delayed for a decade and for greatly expanded pre-kindergarten for 4 year olds. You can hear my full comments on the Senate floor here.

The Foundation Aid formula, adopted in the 2007-08 school year as a remedy to the Campaign for Fiscal Equity school funding lawsuit, will be fully phased in over three years. Starting in the 2021-22 school year, an increase of $1.4 billion in Foundation Aid funding will bring all school districts up to at least 60% of full funding, and provide a minimum two percent increase. Most of the schools in our district will see substantial increases in funding, along with additional federal funding through the December federal stimulus bill and the American Rescue Plan.

In addition to this transformational accomplishment, the final enacted budget provides the following for our education system:
 
  • Full Day PreK: Provides a new $105 million full day 4 year old Pre-K program for expansion outside of NYC, allowing 210 districts to have Pre-K for the first time. 
  • Federal Aid: Ensures that $12 billion dollars in additional Federal COVID Aid will supplement, and not supplant State funding.
  • Broadband Connectivity: Includes a new $15 million digital equity grant program administered by the State Education Department, and includes a low-income broadband initiative for $15 per month for qualifying households, including students in the free and reduced price school lunch program.
  • Higher Education: Prevents continuing tuition increases at SUNY and CUNY; increases the maximum award under the TAP program by $500; and commits to eliminate the TAP Gap in four years, providing additional recurring operating aid to SUNY and CUNY to avoid future massive tuition increases.

SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES & RESTAURANTS

  • Small Business Grants: Provides $800 million in small business grants, and $200 million in tax credits, to help our small businesses get back on their feet;
  • Special Restaurant Tax Credits for communities long suffering under Orange zone designations – including in Port Chester: Provides $35 million in refundable tax credits for restaurants that were subject to an indoor dining ban as a result of red or orange zone designations outside of the City for at least 30 days, like Port Chester, when the restaurant experienced year to year revenue or job losses of 40% or more. 

PROTECTING MIDDLE-CLASS TAXPAYERS

  • Property Tax Relief: Provides $440 million in property tax relief for 1.3 million New Yorkers earning under $250,000 or less based on the proportion of their income spent paying income taxes, the first time such a far-reaching program has been instituted.
  • Middle Class Tax Cuts: Restores the middle class tax cut to continue the reduction in income tax rates for middle class taxpayers with incomes up to $323,000.  


INVESTING IN ROADS, BRIDGES & INFRASTRUCTURE

  • Roads and Bridges: provides additional funding to repair and rebuild our roads and bridges
  • $100 million increase for roads and bridges through the CHIPS program.
  • Additional funds for Extreme Winter Recovery to deal with winter storm impacts on our roads.
  • $50 million increase for PAVE-NY program.
  • $385 million for additional eligible capital projects to support local infrastructure and regional construction priorities. 
  • Broadband: Directs the Public Service Commission to publish a detailed map of broadband access in the State and conduct a comprehensive study on the availability, reliability and cost of broadband. 

ENSURING ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

  • Authorizes the Environmental Bond Act of 2021 to appear on the ballot in 2022 general election to preserve New York’s natural resources and reduce the impact of climate change.
  • Extends tax credit for brownfield redevelopment projects subject to Covid-related delays.
PROVIDING TENANT & HOMEOWNER RELIEF TO AVOID EVICTION & FORECLOSURE

  • Emergency Rental Assistance Program: allocates $2.4 billion COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program (CERAP) to provide up to 12 months of rental and/or utility arrears assistance and up to three months of prospective rent assistance, a year of eviction protection.
  • Homeowner Assistance: allocates $600 million in federal funding to provide assistance with mortgage, utility, or home energy payments.

SUPPORTING FAMILIES 

  • Child Care: allocates federally-granted child care funds to authorize more families to access child care subsidies, lowering co-payments to not more than 10% of family income above the poverty level, and providing child care tuition support for essential workers; allocates $1.3 billion to child care providers in stabilization grants and offsets cleaning and safety expenses.
  • Excluded Workers Fund: Creates a $2.1 billion Excluded Worker Fund to provide stimulus payments to workers who can prove they lost employment or income during the COVID-19 pandemic but who were ineligible for Unemployment Insurance or other federal benefits such as stimulus payments. 
  • Applicants must verify their identity, continuous residency before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, and work-related eligibility.  
  • Based on the ability to demonstrate work-related eligibility, applicants may be able to qualify for one of two benefit tiers. 
  • Program will be subject to regulations written by the New York State Department of Labor. The Attorney General and Comptroller both have obligations to guard against potential fraudulent claims. 
NEW REVENUES TO MEET ONGOING STATE OBLIGATIONS FROM HIGHER INCOME EARNERS & LARGE COMPANIES

  • Increases the current top state personal income tax rate by 0.83% for individuals whose incomes are over $1 million and joint filers over $2 million
  • Establishes two additional brackets with tax rates at 10.30% (increase of less than 2%) for those whose income is between $5 and $25 million, and 10.90% (approximately a 2% increase) for those whose income is over $25 million.
  • Increases corporate franchise tax rate for companies with over $5 million in revenue
NYS Community Budget Forum
Assemblymember Chris Burdick and I invite you to a Virtual Community Budget Forum to learn about the

2021-22 Adopted State Budget.

NYS Community Budget Forum
Thursday, April 15, 2021
7:00 - 8:00 PM

Registrants will be emailed a Zoom link. The event will also be streamed to Facebook.
222 Grace Church Street, Suite 300
Port Chester, NY 10573
Phone: (914) 934-5250 --- Email: SMayer@nysenate.gov