STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1296
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 9, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sens. BORRELLO, CANZONERI-FITZPATRICK, LANZA, OBERACKER,
O'MARA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be
committed to the Committee on Finance
AN ACT to amend the state finance law, in relation to establishing a
spending cap
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The state finance law is amended by adding a new article 17
2 to read as follows:
3 ARTICLE 17
4 ANNUAL SPENDING GROWTH CAP ACT
5 Section 244. Definitions.
6 245. Establishment of annual spending growth cap.
7 246. Provisions regarding declaration of emergency.
8 § 244. Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms shall
9 have the following meanings, unless otherwise specified:
10 1. "Annual spending growth cap" shall mean a percentage determined by
11 adding the inflation rates from each of the three calendar years imme-
12 diately prior to the commencement of a given fiscal year and then divid-
13 ing that sum by three or two percent, whichever is less.
14 2. "State operating funds spending" shall mean annual disbursements of
15 all governmental fund types included in the cash-basis financial plan of
16 the state, excluding disbursements from federal funds and capital
17 project funds.
18 3. "Inflation rate" shall mean the percentage change in the twelve-
19 month average of the consumer price index for all urban consumers as
20 published by the United States department of labor, bureau of labor
21 statistics or any successor agency for a given calendar year compared to
22 the prior calendar year.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01635-01-5
S. 1296 2
1 4. "Executive budget" shall mean the budget submitted annually by the
2 governor pursuant to section one of article VII of the state constitu-
3 tion.
4 5. "State budget as enacted" shall mean the budget acted upon by the
5 legislature in a given fiscal year, as subject to section four of arti-
6 cle VII of the state constitution and section seven of article IV of the
7 state constitution.
8 6. "Emergency" shall mean an extraordinary, unforeseen, or unexpected
9 occurrence, or combination of circumstances, including but not limited
10 to a natural disaster, invasion, terrorist attack, or economic calamity.
11 § 245. Establishment of annual spending growth cap. 1. There is here-
12 by established an annual spending growth cap.
13 2. The governor shall not submit, and the legislature shall not act
14 upon, a budget that contains a percentage increase over the prior fiscal
15 year in state operating funds spending which exceeds the annual spending
16 growth cap.
17 3. The governor shall certify in writing that state operating funds
18 spending in the executive budget does not exceed the annual spending
19 growth cap. If final inflation rate data for the prior calendar year is
20 not yet available at the time the governor submits their executive budg-
21 et, the governor shall furnish a reasonable estimate of such prior
22 calendar year inflation rate.
23 4. The comptroller shall provide, within five days of action by the
24 legislature upon the budget, a determination as to whether the state
25 operating funds spending as set forth in the state budget as enacted
26 exceeds the annual spending growth cap.
27 5. If the comptroller finds that state operating funds spending as set
28 forth in the state budget as enacted exceeds the annual spending growth
29 cap, the governor shall take corrective action to ensure that funding is
30 limited to the amount of the annual spending cap.
31 § 246. Provisions regarding declaration of emergency. 1. Upon a find-
32 ing of an emergency by the governor, the governor may declare an emer-
33 gency by an executive order which shall set forth the reasons for such
34 declaration.
35 2. Based upon such declaration, the governor may submit, and the
36 legislature may authorize, by a two-thirds supermajority, a budget
37 containing a percentage increase over the prior fiscal year in state
38 operating funds spending that exceeds the annual spending growth cap.
39 § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
40 have become a law.
