Statement On Passage Of State Budget

For the past 12 years, the state Assembly fought tooth-and-nail to beat back executive budget proposals that showed blatant disregard for the challenges confronting working families, the elderly and struggling communities across New York State.

This year marked the dawn of a new era as we were presented with an executive budget that clearly demonstrated a shared commitment to education, higher education, expanded health-insurance coverage for children, promoting stem-cell research and increased local aid and middle-class tax cuts. No longer would the Assembly have to fight the battle alone. Now we have an executive who was fully engaged in the process and willing to work together for the common good of New Yorkers. The end result of this change is that New York is well on its way to achieving historic reforms in the way we fund the education of our children and the delivery of heath care for the elderly, the sick, the disabled and hundreds of thousands of children. The focus has been on producing a balanced, fair and forward-looking result.

For years, we have fought for a meaningful statewide solution to the Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE) school aid decision. This budget accomplishes that Assembly goal. We make significant investments in our education system by finally addressing the court ruling in the CFE case. Included in the budget is a new foundation education formula for predictable, stable and transparent funding - something the Assembly has insisted on for years. Particularly crucial is the assurance that at long last New York City, the focus of the original court case, will receive 43 percent of the foundation aid. This builds on last year's Assembly victory on "EXCEL" financing for New York City by providing over $600 million more in operating aid.

This budget expands early education and, to promote long-term educational success, it funds universal pre-kindergarten for all 4-year-olds in our state. This will provide what studies show is a critical head start on achieving a world class education. Our budget provides increased resources to reduce class size and foster a positive learning environment. The budget also demands increased accountability throughout our education system to ensure "reform plus resources equal results." It invests in our state university system, funding opportunity programs that keep the college door open for deserving students and that help to ensure a well-educated work force so students can compete and succeed in today's global economy.

In addition, the state budget authorizes 100 more charter schools, while instituting reforms to ease the financial impact on local school districts, increase accountability and ensure communities have a voice in where they are located. This budget ensures that charter schools exist in communities where they are viewed as innovative ways to improve educational opportunity, while protecting the students who attend our traditional public schools.

This budget expands the Child Health Plus program to provide 400,000 uninsured children with insurance coverage. This budget will increase access to health care, protect the most vulnerable and reform a system that needs adjustment in a measured, prudent way. It also creates a New York State False Claims Act to root out Medicaid fraud and to help restore the Medicaid program to the efficient safety net it was designed to be.

The budget provides critical funding to hospitals and nursing homes. We further strengthen their ability to deliver critical health-care services by continuing a significant portion of the "trend factor" and eliminating the burdensome .35 percent "sick tax."

As significant achievement in the budget is the realization of the Assembly's long-term goal of funding stem-cell research. This initiative embraces innovative, forward-looking technologies in pursuit of life-saving medical advances. We invest $600 million over the next five years in stem-cell research to support vital scientific and medical research into new treatments and even potential cures for many debilitating diseases. Through these efforts, our state not only will remain on the cutting edge of efforts to relieve suffering and to bring hope, but also continue to build upon its world-renown reputation as a force in the development of biological and medical technologies.

The Assembly fought for much-needed property-tax relief for over-burdened working families and job-creation for beleaguered sectors of our community. This budget provides an important boost to our agricultural industry through a new $30 million Dairy Assistance Program for aiding our dairy farmers.

To help homeowners facing increasing property taxes the budget provides $1.3 billion in relief targeted to middle-class families as property tax rebates. New York City taxpayers will receive relief through an enhanced STAR personal income tax credit. It also delivers business tax relief through a reduction in the corporate tax rate and through targeted tax reductions for manufacturers to strengthen our state's economic competitiveness, especially upstate.

To provide additional property-tax relief and support the delivery of vital municipal services, the budget increases local aid by restoring funding to 81 towns and villages and providing grants to promote the consolidation of services by localities. Additional funds in the state budget will allow New York City to be restored to the statewide revenue sharing program.

The governor's original budget was the best one put forth by a governor in more than 10 years. The final budget we enact today builds upon that blueprint.