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"They Don't Fear Him Anymore": Progressives Celebrate Budget Victories Over Weakened Cuomo
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Apr 7, 2021
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By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Apr 7, 2021
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New York’s legislative leaders have finalized a $212 billion budget that will raise income taxes on the wealthy while sending billions of dollars to struggling tenants, schools, small businesses, and undocumented residents impacted by the pandemic.
The last of the ten bills that make up the budget were passed by the State Senate overnight, with the State Assembly expected to finish voting on Wednesday afternoon. The final bills were hailed as a historic victory by progressives, who successfully fought to raise $4.3 billion through additional income and corporate taxes, over the objections of Governor Andrew Cuomo.
The tax revenue, coupled with a one-time infusion of $12.6 billion from the federal government, will be used to fund a range of new social and education priorities backed by the Democrat-controlled legislature. They include a new program to disburse $2.4 billion in federal rent relief; a $2.1 billion fund for undocumented New Yorkers who did not receive benefits; and $2.4 billion in childcare subsidies.
The budget also delivers $1 billion in grants and tax credits for small businesses, and major investment in renewable energy projects. An unprecedented 11% jump in aid to schools will fulfill a decades-old lawsuit that required the state to increase education spending — a dramatic shift from Cuomo’s initial plan to slash schools funding by $600 million this year.
Political observers said the negotiations marked the clearest evidence to date of the governor’s diminished power, as he faces dual scandals related to his alleged sexual misconduct and mismanagement of nursing homes during the pandemic.
“The legislature had its way, and that is not something we’ve seen in a long time,” John Kaehny, the executive director of the good government group Reinvent Albany, told Gothamist on Wednesday. “This is probably about as weak as you’re ever going to see a governor in negotiations.”
In one of the most striking reversals, Cuomo agreed to repeal a law that shielded nursing homes from liability, which he’d forced through the legislature in the early days of the pandemic.
The annual budget is negotiated in private by the governor and leaders of the State Assembly and Senate, culminating in thousands of pages of bills that lawmakers frequently vote on without having read. The process, which presents the most significant legislative opportunity of the year, has been tightly controlled by Cuomo for years. But evidence suggests his power is slipping.
While Cuomo had sought to include a proposal to remake the area around Penn Station — a “boondoggle” that would’ve rewarded some of his campaign donors, according to Kaehny — the language in the budget ultimately reserved that funding for transportation improvements. A separate “raid” on the MTA’s budget that would have moved close to $160 million into the state’s general fund was also defeated last month.
“The governor is a believer in Machiavelli. He believes that fear is the great motivator in politics,” said Doug Muzzio, a professor of political science at Baruch College. “The legislature, or most of the legislature, they don’t fear him anymore.”
Newly empowered, and buoyed by a coalition of nearly 200 activist groups, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie pushed to establish a fund for undocumented workers who did not receive benefits during the pandemic.
The bill creates a two-tiered system, awarding up to $15,600 in unemployment benefits for those who can produce a tax identification number, and up to $3,200 in stimulus payments for those who don't have that verification. The program, which Cuomo said would be reviewed by the State Attorney General to prevent fraud, is expected to benefit roughly 290,000 undocumented workers throughout the state.
Following pushback from some center-leaning suburban Democrats, lawmakers agreed to withhold income taxes from the payments, and remove eligibility for incarcerated New Yorkers.
“This is a great start and we’re ready to keep fighting,” Rebecca Bailin, the campaign coordinator for Invest In Our New York Coalition, said in an interview on Wednesday. “A year ago in the midst of a global health crisis, many believed that taxing the wealthy to fund our communities was impossible.”
The budget did include some Cuomo priorities, such as legalizing mobile sports betting, and a first step toward approving three casinos in downstate New York.
Perhaps most significant are the changes to the state’s income tax. Under the final version of the bill, New Yorkers earning more than $1 million will see their state income tax rate increase from 8.82% to 9.65%. The legislation also creates two new tax brackets for those who make between $5 million and $25 million. Combined with city taxes, the wealthiest New Yorkers will soon pay the highest tax rate in the country.
Throughout the pandemic, Cuomo has explicitly rejected a range of tax increases, warning they could push New Yorkers to move out of the state. In his announcement of the deal on Tuesday afternoon, he included no mention of the new tax hikes.
Asked at a press conference on Wednesday if he felt his mounting scandals hurt his ability to negotiate, the governor insisted he was perfectly happy with the outcome.
“I don’t think we have done a better budget than the budget you see before you today,” he said. “It was the most challenging budget because of what it needed to accomplish.”
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legislation
governor cuomo
budget
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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