ALBANY – State politicians have criticized the “three men in a room” adoption of a state budget that has been the annual practice for years, but the governor and state legislative leaders – three of them – Friday night announced agreement on a fiscal year 2018 budget.
The $98.1 billion spending plan, seven days late, holds spending growth to two percent. It must now be approved by the full legislature.
The budget includes “All Funds” spending of $153.1 billion; increased education aid by $1.1 billion – a jump of 4.4 percent; increases Medicaid state share funding to $23.5 billion; extends the tax rate on millionaires; and begins the “Middle Class Tax Cut,” saving taxpayers an average of $250 next years, and six million residents $700 annually when fully effective.
The budget includes the free college tuition plan at SUNY and CUNY two- and four-year colleges for working- and middle-class families, approves riding sharing statewide, and increases direct care professional salaries.
