Assemblymember Marcos A. Crespo outlines NYS’ 2019-20 Budget
From page 71
$365,000 for the Minority- and Women-
Owned Business Development and
Lending Program, for a total of $1 million.
Making The Property
Tax Cap Permanent
The 2019-20 state budget makes the
2 percent property tax cap permanent,
limiting the annual growth of local
property taxes to 2 percent or the rate
of infl ation, whichever is lower. Implemented
in 2012, the tax cap has saved
New York property taxpayers $24.4 billion
statewide.
Extending the Millionaires Tax
The 2019-20 state budget extends the
millionaires tax by fi ve years to continue
funding important programs that
New Yorkers rely on and ensure everyone
is paying their fair share. It also
implements a progressive and supplemental
mansion tax starting on properties
valued at more than $2 million at an
additional 0.25 percent and ending at a
top rate of 2.9 percent for properties in
excess of $25 million. The mansion tax
is projected to raise $243 million. Additionally,
the budget creates a supplemental
Real Estate Transfer Tax of 0.25
percent for residences above $3 million
and commercial properties over $2 million
to raise $122 million. Together they
will raise $365 million in fi nancing for
the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
capital lockbox. The budget also
allocates $232 million from internet
sales tax revenues to the MTA.
Funding Early Voting
To help ensure every New Yorker
has an opportunity to participate in our
democracy, the Assembly passed a law
establishing early voting during a nineday
period before any general, primary,
run-off primary or special election to
make voting more accessible (Ch. 6 of
2019). To offset the costs of additional
poll hours for fi nancially strained local
governments, the fi nal state budget earmarks
$10 million for localities. The budget
also makes primary voting hours
consistent across the state, requiring
all counties to have polling sites open
from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. This measure addresses
a discrepancy that saw most upstate
counties provide six fewer hours
to vote on primary day than downstate.
The budget includes legislation ensuring
that workers receive three hours of
paid time off on Election Day.
Modernizing Our Voting System
The state budget enacts an electronic
voter registration system
through which voters can register and
have their application submitted to the
appropriate local board of elections online.
The state budget also authorizes
the use of electronic poll books to administer
elections and provides $14.7
million in capital funding for counties
to purchase e-poll books and on-demand
ballot printers to support the implementation
of early voting.
Making Progress
Toward Public Financing
The state budget also establishes a
commission that will examine, evaluate
and make recommendations regarding
a public campaign fi nancing system
in New York. The commission’s fi ndings
are to be reported by Dec. 1, 2019,
and will be binding unless modifi ed by
law within 20 days. The budget also prohibits
lobbyists, political action committees,
labor unions and independent
expenditure committees from making
loans to candidates for political offi ce.
Getting Subways Back On
Track And Clearing the Roads
To raise funds for the MTA and
make critical improvements to public
transportation, the budget creates
the fi rst congestion tolling program
in the country. The congestion pricing
zone includes 60th Street and south in
Manhattan – excluding FDR Drive and
West Side Highway – and spans NYC’s
Central Business District. The Triborough
Bridge and Tunnel Authority will
oversee the program’s creation and operation,
working closely with the NYC
Department of Transportation. The Assembly
fought to ensure that the TBTA
would oversee the program – pursuant
to a memorandum of understanding
with the City of New York – rejecting
an executive proposal that would have
bypassed local input. Electronic tolling
devices would be installed on the
perimeter of the Central Business District,
with dynamic pricing for tolls.
Passenger vehicles would be charged
only once per day.
The TBTA will establish a 6-member
Traffi c Mobility Review Board to recommend
the price of the tolls and the value
of exemptions or credits. To allow ample
time for installation and public input –
including public hearings – the program
would not go into effect before Dec. 31,
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2020. This tolling program is expected
to raise $15 billion, which the budget ensures
goes entirely toward the MTA capital
budget and is prohibited from being
used for non-capital spending.
To determine the needs of the MTA
and see that the funding is used strategically,
the budget takes several steps
to improve oversight. This includes requiring
the MTA to develop a reorganization
plan by June and undergo an independent
forensic audit and effi ciency
review. The budget also modifi es MTA
Board appointments to align with the
appointing authority, creates a unit
made up of independent experts to review
major projects, increases the competitive
procurement threshold from
$100,000 to $1 million and establishes
a 30-day review notice for comptroller
contract approval. And, to increase
transparency, the budget also requires
public reporting on MTA performance
metrics.
To supplement funding for the MTA
and ensure the wealthy pay their fair
share, the budget implements a progressive
and supplemental mansion tax
starting on properties valued at more
than $2 million at an additional 0.25
percent and ending at a top rate of 2.9
percent for properties in excess of $25
million. The mansion tax is projected
to raise $243 million. Additionally, the
budget creates a supplemental Real Estate
Transfer Tax of 0.25 percent for residences
above $3 million and commercial
properties over $2 million to raise
$122 million. Together they will raise
$365 million for the MTA capital lockbox.
The budget also allocates $232 million
from internet sales tax revenues to
the MTA.
Helping Our Veterans Get Ahead
The 2019-20 budget honors the immense
sacrifi ces made by our veterans
by restoring more than $1.6 million to
various programs that will help these
heroes begin new chapters of their lives.
These vital programs help veterans use
their diverse skills to fi nd gainful employment,
connect them to needed resources
and provide legal and other
services to low-income active-duty
members so that veterans and their
families are supported in their transition
back to civilian life. The funding
includes: $500,000 for the NYS Defenders’
Association; $200,000 for Helmets
to Hardhats; $200,000 for Clear Path for
Veterans; $125,000 for Veterans of Foreign
Wars; and $100,000 for the SAGE
Veterans Project.
The budget changes the name of the
state Division of Veterans’ Affairs to the
Division of Veterans’ Services to avoid
confusion with the federal department
and includes $1.38 million to allow it to
fully fund county and city service agencies.
It also earmarks $4 million for the
Joseph P. Dwyer Peer Support Project,
a peer-to-peer program that helps veterans
who have returned home and are
facing the challenges of post-traumatic
stress disorder and Traumatic Brain
Injury.
Banning Plastic Bags
The widespread use of single-use
plastic bags is wasteful, unnecessary
and puts our marine life and our environment
at risk. They also take decades
to decompose. New York State has been
a strong leader in fi ghting the very real
and present threat of climate change,
and tackling the scourge of plastic bags
is another step the Assembly is taking
in protecting our environment.
To clean up our neighborhoods and
waterways, the 2019-20 state budget implements
a statewide ban on single-use
plastic bags given out by grocery stores
and other retailers. The proposal also
authorizes counties and cities to impose
a 5-cent fee on paper carryout bags,
with 40 percent of the fee going back to
the municipalities to help distribute reusable
bags and 60 percent going toward
the Environmental Protection Fund.
Low-income New Yorkers who qualify
for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program or Special Supplemental Nutrition
Program for Women, Infants
and Children services will be exempt
from the paper bag surcharge.
Protecting the Environment
New York is not only home to some of
the country’s most beautiful landmarks
that we can explore and enjoy, but also
natural resources that help our communities
and boost our economy. To
help keep our environment vibrant and
healthy, the fi nal budget renews a record
$300 million for the Environmental
Protection Fund (EPF), the highest level
of funding in the program’s history.
The fi nal budget removes personal
service language from the EPF that was
included in the executive budget. This
proposal would have resulted in the loss
of $18.5 million for environmental projects
in neighborhoods across the state
in order to pay for state agency staff.
To ensure all New Yorkers have access
to clean drinking water, the 2019-
20 state budget builds on the state’s historic
$2.5 billion investment in clean
water, including an additional $500 million
in funding for the Clean Water Infrastructure
Act.
Among the water infrastructure initiatives
funded in the 2019-20 state budget
are: $200 million for the Water Infrastructure
Improvement Act (WIIA)
to address emerging contaminants;
$50 million for the replacement of lead
drinking water service lines; $40 million
for Water Quality Improvement
Projects; $25 million for the Intermunicipal
Water Infrastructure grant program;
$25 million for land acquisition
for source water protection; and $10
million for upgrades and replacements
of septic systems and cesspools.
The budget requires large-scale food
scrap generators to separate as much
edible food as possible for donation, and
separate food scraps for organic recycling
if they are within 25 miles of an
organics recycler, exempting hospitals,
nursing homes, adult care facilities and
elementary and secondary schools. The
budget encourages the use of clean and
alternative energy by providing $23 million
for clean energy tax credits.
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