This week, the State Senate published our chamber’s proposed budget, which lays out the chamber’s priorities as we head into negotiations with the Assembly and Governor. Over the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing information about key Orange County priorities in our proposal.
Some of those highlights include:
- Fully funding our schools with a guaranteed boost of at least 2% to state aid, an increase over the 1% baseline proposed by the Governor. Additionally, truly universal pre-K will be required in every school district by the fall of 2028.
- Requiring body scanners in youth detention centers and facilities, mirroring legislation I introduced to help keep residents and support staff safer. The Senate also included $1 million to support Orange County’s use of crime analysis centers in the region, providing much-needed capacity that will allow Orange County law enforcement to solve and prosecute crimes faster.
- Expansion of the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), allowing for students in post-secondary or transitional programs, like SUNY Orange Bridges, to receive awards from TAP, correcting a long-standing inequity in state law that has blocked students with intellectual disabilities from accessing this funding.
- $100 million in additional funding for the Hudson Valley’s DOT Region. According to DOT’s own reporting, Region 8 roads had the lowest percentage of “good + excellent” conditions in the state—46.5%. With the Hudson Valley containing the most state roads and bridges of any region in New York, aggressive and sustained investment is vital.
- Tappan Zee Bridge toll relief for Orange County commuters, adding residents to the existing discount program offered to Rockland and Westchester counties’ drivers. Additionally, funding for a West Shore Rail Line passenger feasibility study, a long sought-after plan to expand public transportation options for west-of-Hudson residents. Numerous Orange County municipalities have recently come out in support of such a study.
- Expansion of the Volunteer Firefighter Response Equipment (V-Fire) program funding to $35 million, which helps fire departments in Orange County and around the state afford critical upgrades.
- Important small business and consumer wins, including the repeal of an antiquated requirement known as “price posting.” New York is one of a small number of states that still requires alcohol wholesalers to preemptively “post and hold” their prices for 30 days at a time, which keeps liquor stores, restaurants, and taverns locked into paying artificially high prices and prevents competitiveness. This practice has resulted in New York being near dead last in the country for wine and spirit affordability.
- $200,000 for the Orange County Building Trades Pre-Apprenticeship program, a continuation of a program that I worked with the local building trades to launch several years ago, which is helping to expand the number of trained, skilled union workers from predominantly underserved communities.
- Inclusion of my legislation subjecting private, for-profit businesses that operate on federal- or state-owned property to taxation. A loophole in current state law deprives local school districts and municipalities of much-needed revenue and provides certain for-profit businesses an unfair competitive advantage; this issue is especially acute in the Town of Highlands which hosts West Point where some private businesses, like the Thayer Hotel, pay zero dollars in property taxes.
Up in Albany, I am always fighting to make life safer, more affordable, and easier for our communities, which is why I’m gratified to see many of our priorities make it into my chamber’s proposed budget. As we negotiate towards a final budget in the coming weeks, I will continue to fight for the resources our district needs and deserves.
