Here's how the $229-billion budget will change the lives of New Yorkers by 2026
NEW YORK - Better late than never because something is always better than nothing, right?
More than a month after it was due, lawmakers in Albany finally approved the state’s budget late Tuesday night.
Lawmakers signed off on a $229-billion budget for the 2024 fiscal year, which begins on July 1. Democrats control Albany and so the vote fell along party lines.
PREVIOUSLY: NY governor proposes $227 billion budget
The budget touches nearly every part of New Yorkers' lives.
Minimum Wage Increase
The minimum wage will rise by 2026, a landmark victory for many labor activists.
- $17 in NYC Long Island & Westchester by 2026
- $16 elsewhere in New York by 2026
Bail Reform Rollbacks
It changed bail reform policies to give judges more discretion when setting bail. Judges no longer have to use the "least restrictive" means necessary to ensure defendants return to court.
They can set a higher bail or deny it entirely. When judges are not allowed to set bail, they can set more stringent conditions for release.
READ MORE: Battle over bail reform holding up New York state budget
Funding the MTA
An MTA bus and cyclist cross 42nd Street as the sun sets on July 10, 2022, in New York City.(Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
It was a mixed bag when it came to the MTA. After Gov. Hochul's initial proposal of $500-million in funding, the plan is on the hook for far less.
The MTA will receive a one-time payment of $300-million from the state and $165-million yearly from the city.
The deal also includes a pilot program for five free bus routes, one in each borough.
READ MORE: MTA budget nightmare averted
Other changes
The budget deal also gives the state more enforcement powers to crack down on illegal weed shops.
The budget plan will also bring 22 new charter schools, including 14 in New York City, a far cry from the more than 100 charters that the governor proposed allowing to open.
The budget includes a first-in-the-nation ban on gas stoves in most new buildings. Democrats control Albany so, not surprisingly, Republicans scoffed at the deal.
While Democrats hailed the new measures, Senate Republican leader, Rob Ortt, called the ban "unconstitutional" and said it will "drive up utility bills and increase housing costs."
The chairman of the state Republican party, Ed Cox, said the ban on gas stoves was ludicrous. Cox said that this budget deal gives people even more reason to flee the Empire State.
Some things that were not listed in the budget, includes a ban on menthol cigarettes, which the governor had proposed.
Gov. Hochul also wanted to build 100,000 new units of housing over the next over the next decade, however that was not included either.