Summary of the 2023-24 New York State Budget
The NYS Budget was passed on May 2, 2023. Many of CSEA’s top priorities were included in the final budget. To download a full summary of the budget and its impact on CSEA members and retirees, click here
The enacted budget does not contain any layoffs, facility closures, inpatient bed reductions, or service reductions. The budget contains funding that will allow the state to continue to hire staff in nearly all state agencies in the coming fiscal year.
Civil Service
• Authorizes the Department of Civil Service (DCS) to offer continuous recruitment exams for open-competitive positions, which allows exams to be offered more frequently and keeps hiring lists up to date.
• Waives fees for all state civil service exams from July 1, 2023, through December 31, 2025. The law also allows municipalities to opt-in to this program.
• Authorizes Civil Service to examine the state’s pay structure to ensure positions are competitive with the private sector.
• Increases the number of 55-B non-competitive class positions available to workers with a physical or mental disability from 1200 to 1700.
• Creates a Centers for Careers in Government to connect New Yorkers who are interested in public sector employment.
• Appropriates funding for a Public Service Matters marketing campaign to promote job opportunities in the public sector.
• Rejects the Governor’s proposal to authorize workers in a 55-B and 55-C position to transfer into the competitive class without examination. CSEA opposed this proposal.
State University of New York (SUNY)
State-Operated Campuses
• Provides $103 million in new operating aid.
• Rejects the Governor’s proposal to allow SUNY and CUNY to increase tuition by 3% for all students
• Authorizes the SUNY Board of Trustees to annually increase tuition rates on out-of-state undergraduate and graduate students for three years beginning in the 2023-2024 academic year.
• Provides $500 million in matching funds for endowment contributions at SUNY’s University Centers.
Community Colleges
• Funds SUNY’s community colleges at FY2023 levels.
• Requires the SUNY Board of Trustees to develop a long-term plan to address fluctuations in enrollment that impact the budgets of SUNY colleges and community colleges.
SUNY Hospitals
• Increases disproportionate share funding (DSH) for the three SUNY hospitals by $72 million, for a total of $106 million.
• Shifts SUNY hospital debt service to the state, saving the three hospitals $65 million.
Office of Mental Health
• Provides a $1 billion investment in mental health, including 1,000 inpatient psychiatric beds, 150 of which will be operated by OMH.
• Provides $1 million for the creation of the Daniel’s Law Task Force, which will investigate the viability of having trained mental health units respond to mental health emergency calls instead of police officers.
• Allows the OMH Commissioner to impose sanctions and fines of up to $25,000 per violation on hospitals that have closed inpatient mental health beds.
Office for People with Developmental Disabilities
• Appropriates $12 million to develop additional Intensive Treatment Opportunity capacity at the former Finger Lakes Developmental Center campus.
• Creates the Independent Developmental Disability Ombudsman Program, which will identify, refer, and resolve complaints made by individuals with disabilities against OPWDD.
• Provides $170 million in new investments to OPWDD, including new funding for day program services, family support services, and residential services for people with developmental disabilities.
Office for Children and Family Services
• Extends the Close to Home Program through 2028, which allows youths who would normally be placed in an OCFS residential facility to remain near their homes. The Governor originally proposed to make this program permanent; CSEA opposed this proposal.
• Provides an $8 million increase in capital investment for OCFS youth facilities.
Department of Corrections and Community Supervision
• Authorizes DOCCS to utilize body imaging equipment to scan visitors, inmates, and staff entering a correctional facility. DOCCS is required to issue regulations regarding when it will use these scanners on staff and must offer alternative methods of screening.
Unified Court System
• Provides $2.2 billion in funding to the Unified Court System, an increase of $89 million.
Department of Transportation (DOT)
• Rejects a proposal to elevate the crime of assaulting a highway worker to a Class D felony. CSEA will continue to lobby this proposal until the end of the legislative session.
Department of Motor Vehicles
• Rejects a proposal to elevate the crime of assaulting a motor vehicle license examiner to a Class D felony. CSEA will continue to lobby this proposal until the end of the legislative session.
• Standardizes the percentage of fees retained by county clerks to 10.75% for in-person and internet-based DMV transactions.
Other Issues
• Wadsworth Laboratories – $1.7 billion to complete consolidation of five unconnected sites to one site on the Harriman Campus in Albany by 2030.
• Olympic Regional Development Authority – $90 million in funding for new capital projects.
• New York State Fair – $14 million for maintenance and improvements.
• State Education Department – Rejects transferring oversight of licensed healthcare professions from the State Department of Education to the Department of Health. CSEA opposed this proposal.
• New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA) – Requires NYSERDA to create a plan to decarbonize 15 of the highest-emitting state-owned facilities. NYSERDA will study how this can be accomplished at each site with a plan due by January 1, 2026. This language includes strong labor standards to protect all CSEA-represented jobs that could be impacted by decarbonization at these state-owned sites.
General Funding
• Provides $714.7 million in Aid and Incentives to Municipalities, the same as FY2023.
• Provides $15 million in additional state aid for the City of Albany.
• Rejects the proposal granting counties the authority to permanently impose additional rates of sales taxes without having to ask the state legislature for authorization every two years. CSEA supported this proposal.
Local Probation Departments
• Provides funding at FY2023 levels.
• Increases funding by $5 million for payments to government and not-for-profit programs providing pretrial services, including screening, assessments, and supervision.
• Provides an additional $250 million in funds to offset expenses for compliance with Raise the Age.
Roads and Bridges
• Provides slightly increased funding for local road and bridge projects compared to FY2023 levels:
o $539 million in CHIPS funding.
o $40 million in Marchiselli funding.
o $100 million for extreme winter recovery funds.
o $140 million for capital projects related to highways, bridges, railroad crossings, and other transportation facilities.
Other Issues
• Authorizes Suffolk County to consolidate all sewer districts into one county-wide district.
• Creates independent oversight of the Orange County Industrial Development Agency.
PreK-12
• Provides $34.5 billion in school aid, including full funding of foundation aid. This is a 10% increase over FY2023 levels.
• Authorizes the reissuance of 22 charter schools, including 14 in New York City.
o The Governor originally proposed 85 additional slots for new charter schools across the state.
• Extends for 1 year the ability of public sector retirees to work for a public school or BOCES without losing a portion of their pension if they exceed the earnings cap of $35,000.
• Provides $171 million for the school lunch and breakfast program.
• Requires an annual report on implementation of zero-emission school buses starting in the 2024-25 school year.
• Authorizes the Mt. Vernon City School District to receive aid on an accelerated schedule and requires the superintendent to provide a monthly report to the Board of Education regarding fund balances and the district’s use of accelerated aid.
Libraries
• Provides $99.6 million in library funding and $34 million in library construction aid, the same as FY2023.
Hospitals & Nursing Homes
• Provides a Medicaid rate increase of 7.5% for hospitals and 6.5% for nursing homes and outpatient clinics. The nursing home rate may be increased to 7.5% with federal approval and participation.
• Provides $500 million in funding for distressed and safety-net hospitals. CSEA will be working with qualified CSEA-represented hospitals to advocate for funding from this pool.
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Provides a state operating subsidy level of $55.4 million, the same as FY2023 levels.
• Provides $51 million in capital funding.
The enacted budget raises the standard minimum wage as follows:
|
Date |
NYC, Suffolk, Nassau, Westchester |
Rest of State |
|
Current |
$15.00 |
$14.20 |
|
January 1, 2024 |
$16.00 |
$15.00 |
|
January 1, 2025 |
$16.50 |
$15.50 |
|
January 1, 2026 |
$17.00 |
$16.00 |
|
January 1, 2027, and thereafter |
Indexed to CPI |
Indexed to CPI |
Beginning on January 1, 2027, and every year thereafter, the minimum wage would increase by the three-year average change in CPI-W. If the CPI is negative or if the state sees an increase in the unemployment rate of 0.5% or higher, there will be no increase. There cannot be more than two consecutive years without an increase in the minimum wage. The Commissioner of Labor must publish the adjusted minimum wages annually, no later than October 1, for wages taking effect on January 1.
The enacted budget also increases the minimum wage for home care workers:
|
Date |
NYC, Suffolk, Nassau, Westchester |
Rest of State |
|
January 1, 2024 |
$18.55 |
$17.55 |
|
January 1, 2025 |
$19.10 |
$18.10 |
|
January 1, 2026 |
$19.65 |
$18.65 |
|
January 1, 2027, and thereafter |
Indexed to CPI |
Indexed to CPI |
• Requires counties to reimburse childcare providers for 80 absences per year, an increase from 24.
• Provides $500 million for a Childcare Workforce Retention Grant Program:
o Existing center and family based childcare workers will receive $2,000 bonuses, or $1,500 for those working in School Aged Child Care programs.
o Programs will also receive additional payments to support recruitment, ranging from $800 to $4,000 depending on modality.
o Funding from this program will not be calculated as income when determining eligibility for social service programs.
• Caps the family co-pay for subsidized childcare to 1% of income.
• Provides $104 million to incentivize providers to open childcare programs in underserved areas.
• Authorizes $600,000 for the Workforce Development Institute to recruit and enroll workers with incomes up to 85% of the state median income ($93,000 for a family of four) in the state’s childcare subsidy program.
• Provides $5.5 million to expand eligibility for the Childcare Facilitated Enrollment Program for workers with incomes up to up to 400% of the federal poverty limit (about $111,000 for a family of four). These funds are intended to assist workers to help pay for childcare expenses.
• Creates a centralized childcare application to apply for a childcare subsidy.
• Authorizes local social service districts to utilize a presumptive eligibility standard for childcare assistance.
Not-For-Profit Providers
• Provides a 4% Cost of Living Adjustment for workers in not-for-profit human services programs. This does not apply to public employees.
Criminal Justice Reform
• Restores judicial discretion for setting bail by removing the “least restrictive means” standard, which will allow judges to impose any restrictions they deem necessary to ensure a defendant returns to court.
•Provides $120 million for expenses related to the state’s discovery reforms.
•Provides $7.2 million for community safety and restorative justice.
• Provides $3.3 million to support criminal justice programs, including re-entry programs, civil or criminal legal services, and crime prevention programs.
•Provides salary increases for public defenders.
•Provides $36 million for Gun Involved Violence Elimination Initiative.
Housing
• Rejects the Governor’s proposal to create 800,000 new housing units over the next 10 years. The Governor says that she will continue working on this issue.
• Provides $391 million in additional funding to Emergency Rental Assistance Program.
• Provides $50 million to help low-income homeowners with home repairs.
• Requires that all rental units built before 1980 be inspected for lead every 3 years and provides penalties for property owners who do not comply.
• Prohibits gas hookups in newly constructed buildings that are seven-stories high or lower beginning December 31, 2025. This prohibition will be in effect for buildings above seven-stories beginning December 31, 2028.
Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA)
• Provides $1.6 billion in new revenue for the MTA, including:
o $300 million in one-time state aid to support MTA operating revenues.
o $1.15 billion from an increase in the Payroll Mobility Tax
o $165 million in direct funding from the City of New York
o $300 million one-time state subsidy
o A 4% fare increase
o Casino licensing fees and portions of revenues from new casinos allocated to the MTA
• Establishes a 2-year pilot plan to offer free bus service on 5 lines (1 per borough).
Other
• Authorizes New York State to operate the Waterfront Commission for one year as New Jersey’s withdrawal from the existing compact takes effect.
• Rejects a proposal to allow local governments to provide a nominal payment to volunteer firefighters but does allow volunteer firefighters to receive a stipend for completing certain training requirements.
• Increases funding for municipal zoos to $26 million, an increase of $1 million.
• Does not increase income taxes.
• Provides a $1 per-pack-increase in cigarette taxes.