$237 billion.
That’s how big of a budget just passed by New York State and approved by Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul, along with the Assembly and Senate. Both of those chambers are controlled by a majority of Democrats.
A big chunk of that budget is going to mitigate the migrant crisis following both New York State and New York City governments declaring themselves a “Sanctuary State and City.” The 2025 budget that passed spends $2.4 billion of your tax dollars on migrants.
“That money could have helped deliver funding to our schools to protect our teachers, taxpayers and students. This bloated and late budget is a failure and has made it abundantly clear that we must end one-party control in New York State,” said New York State Senator Mario R. Mattera.
Republican calls for lawmakers to make drastic changes to bail reform went unheeded, with no major crime reform being addressed in the $237 billion budget.
“The priorities being belabored in Albany are not our priorities here in Suffolk. What will it take for them to wake up and realize we have a serious public safety problem that is continually getting worse?” asked New York State Senator Anthony Palumbo.
A number of spending initiatives were placed in the final 2025 budget, including:
Giving Governor Hochul the power to close five prisons across New York. A big win for unions by sweetening public pension benefits for government employees. Tier Six pension reform provisions could cost local governments an additional $400 million per year.
“Affordability and public safety once again go largely unaddressed in any meaningful terms. I proudly voted no on this disastrous budget. NYers have made it clear they believe our state is heading in the wrong direction. This budget only turbo-charges our decline,” said New York State Minority Leader Rob Ortt.