“As the Ranking Minority member on the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, my job is to ask the questions that often get filtered out through the governor’s rose-colored glasses.

I have always supported New York’s families, and I understand the financial strain child care places on working parents. But behind every major decision coming out of Albany, whether you agree with it or not, comes a price tag that will have to be sorted out in the state budget.

The governor’s announcement today commits $1.7 billion in new, recurring spending, bringing total child care and pre-K investments to $4.5 billion this year. At a time when the state is already facing a projected $4.2 billion budget gap, and a $26.8 billion budget gap over the next three years, those numbers cannot be ignored.

Without a clear plan focused on reforms, efficiencies, and reprioritizing existing spending, adding this large new level of spending will deepen future budget gaps, crowd out core services, and increase pressure for future tax hikes or fees.”