Press Release
CSS Applauds Governor for Funding Vital Consumer Assistance Programs in Executive Budget
The FY24 Executive Budget released yesterday by Governor Hochul funds several initiatives that matter to New Yorkers, from investments in mental healthcare and public education to incentivizing greater housing production across the state and tackling the MTA’s chronic budget shortfalls.
Speaking of the MTA, the governor’s budget calls for raising bus and subway fares (from $2.75 to $3.00) at a time when the system is struggling with ridership. If the governor is going to push a fare hike – and ask the city to contribute more funding ($500 million) to the authority – she should also mandate expansion of programs that help more low-income New Yorkers access public transit, such as “Fair Fares.”
The Community Service Society (CSS) is still assessing the governor’s $227 billion budget book and its implications for low-income families in our state. In the interim, we want to commend the governor for banning flavored tobacco products that have a disparate impact on people of color and youth. And for recognizing medical debt as a profound problem for New Yorkers.
We are also very pleased to see that the budget funds vital consumer assistance programs in the areas of healthcare and education debt that assist New Yorkers access affordable healthcare and make informed decisions about managing their student debt. For example, the Executive Budget includes $3 million for the Education Debt Consumer Assistance Program (EDCAP), which helps New Yorkers navigate the student loan system, maximize their repayment options, apply for public loan forgiveness, cancellation, discharge programs, and so much more. Other critical consumer assistance programs funded in the budget are: Community Health Advocates (CHA), which received $3.5 million to continue to help New Yorkers find and navigate health coverage or access low-cost or free care; Community Health Access to Addiction and Mental Healthcare Project (CHAMP), which also received $3.5 million to assist New Yorkers in accessing treatment and insurance coverage for substance use and mental health treatment. Additionally, the budget provides funding for programs that help people enroll in health insurance coverage.
We also commend Governor Hochul for focusing attention on housing issues that are making life unaffordable for a majority of New Yorkers, including proposals to make basement apartments safe and legal and to support planning for housing production across the state. Her Executive Budget offers millions in infrastructure support to alleviate communities' concerns regarding new development for potential tenants. However, the budget proposal fails to call for action to immediately prevent evictions, preserve already affordable housing, or rehouse the homeless. Indeed, the words “public housing,” “eviction,” and “vouchers” are nowhere to be found in the Governor’s briefing book.
There is, however, a discussion of reviving and expanding 421-a, the expired tax exemption program that cost New York City $2.8 billion per year in uncollected tax revenue while failing to produce housing most New Yorkers could afford. There is therefore a lot of work to be done in the coming months to ensure that New York’s budget makes serious investments in housing stability and tenant protections.
Finally, we are disappointed that the Executive Budget walked back from the governor’s prior commitment to secure federal funding for health insurance coverage for immigrants. New York should be a progressive leader in promoting health equity and expanding health coverage to undocumented adults. Also missing from the budget was any mention of the Clean Slate Act, which would automatically seal stale conviction records for civil purposes and thereby allow more than 2.3 million New Yorkers with past justice system involvement the ability to move beyond their criminal histories to obtain jobs and stable places to live, and be full participants in our state’s economy. The governor had previously pledged to support passage of the bill.
As negotiations begin between the governor and state legislature toward adoption of a final budget agreement by April, we hope Clean Slate and other important legislative initiatives aimed at addressing social and economic inequities will be part of the deliberations.