Education

The Education budget is a wide-ranging bill, so I am going to focus on a few very specific issues that are most impactful to the 135th District.

• Increased Foundation Aid for every district
• Expands UPK state-wide by 2028, including increased per-pupil rates for Upstate Districts to help establish new slots
• Zero-emission school bus mandate delayed by 5 years
• Establish “Back to Basics” best practices for K-5 math

Foundation Aid is the base level funding we provide to every district in the State. By increasing Foundation Aid, we help keep school taxes down, give schools predictable funding upon which to base their budgets, and help level the playing field between districts with different tax bases.

The Education budget this year fully funds the Foundation Aid formula, plus a 2% hold harmless ensuring that every district receives a minimum of a 2% increase regardless of changes in student population.It also includes a boost within the formula for per pupil funding relating to numbers of English Language Learners and Homeless students. There is also a substantial increase in Universal Pre-K funding to $10,000 per student (or your foundation aid rate, whichever is higher), which will give districts the funding they need to either start or expand UPK across every district by 2028.

There has also been a delay to the zero-emission bus mandate, which was scheduled to go into full effect next year.Under this delay, schools will have an additional 5 years to plan for the transition, and we, at the state and local levels, will be able to better build out the grid infrastructure we need to support the onboarding of bus charging stations.A major issue in the adoption of this policy was the availability of the buses themselves; the manufacturing pipeline for EV buses has been backlogged due to supply chain issues that have never caught up to demand.Federal changes in rebates and renewable energy policy have also contributed to the challenges associated with the adoption of this policy. We hope that the coming years will provide us with more opportunities to address these challenges.

And just like we did with the Science of Reading, we are directing the State Education Department to establish back to basics best practices for elementary school math.

Local Government Cooperation with Federal Immigration Enforcement Operations

• Prohibits Law Enforcement from wearing masks when interacting with the public, except in cases of illness, emergency and weather.
• Prohibits official and unofficial cooperative agreements between local law enforcement and ICE for civil enforcement, or the use of any local resources for that purpose
• Does not prevent cooperation for criminal enforcement
• Prohibits ICE from entering into the non-public areas of certain sensitive locations without a judicial warrant, including:
• Schools, Daycares and Pre-Schools, Colleges, Healthcare Facilities, Houses of Worship, Housing Accommodations, Senior Centers, Rec Centers, State-Owned Facilities, Athletic Fields, Parks, and Polling Places
• Allows New Yorkers to sue federal law enforcement for violations of their rights in New York Courts

The concerns we seek to address with this budget language is the use of local government resources in the enforcement of civil immigration matters. Civil immigration enforcement means the actions associated with enforcing valid removal orders for persons without valid visas or green cards.These actions are within the scope of ICE's legal authority and what they were designed to do. ICE’s actions over the last several months have gone well beyond the scope of this authority and infringed on the rights of New York residents, citizens and non-citizens alike. We do not want to involve our local law enforcement, or devote tax-payer resources, to the illegal actions of ICE.Nothing in the budget prevents local law enforcement from coordinating with Customs and Border Patrol, or any other federal agency, in the investigation and enforcement of criminal matters.Lots of cases involve coordination with CBP, such as drug and human trafficking, and cases involving criminal suspects who may be in the immigration system for whatever reason.We do not prevent that coordination.

You can find the bill here: https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?bn=A10005&term=&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Votes=Y&Memo=Y&Text=Y

Auto Insurance Reform

• Caps insurance company profits at 5%
• Requires that excess profits be returned to the rate payer
• Prohibits rates from being based solely on factors unrelated to driving history like home ownership, educational attainment, employment or zip code
• Requires prior approval of any insurance rate increase, and requires insurers to explain any rate increase or discount during renewal
• Expands the law around what constitutes fraud
• Funds a State Police task force to crack down on fraud
• Makes changes to tort law to limit the kinds of claims and insurance company can be sued for

Car insurance was an enormous part of the budget delay this year, owing to a deep disagreement between the Governor and the legislature around the best way to lower car insurance rates for New Yorkers. One of the reasons New York auto insurers charge higher rates than other states is because they can. The changes we've made help reign in insurance company greed and protect consumers from discrimination.

While we agreed that New York car insurance rates are too high, and that there is state action that could influence those rates to the benefit of rate payers, we disagreed about how best to accomplish that goal. The solution we landed on was a mix of solutions from my bill, A10524, and the Governor's plan. This particular language includes the changes from my bill, and some of the fraud language from the Governor's plan, which includes creating a fraud task force with the State police and other changes to the law around what constitutes insurance fraud.

I fundamentally disagree with the changes to tort law that are found in this budget.I do not think rate payers will save enough from these changes, once any savings trickle down, to justify the tremendous negative impact these substantial changes in long-established law will have on victims of car accidents.Now, as a result of these changes, victims of car accidents with traumatic brain injuries that are not accompanied by a skull fracture– injuries like post-concussive syndrome and vestibular migraines– may be prevented from seeking full compensation for their injuries. Further, and far more impactful, is the change to our comparative negligence law, which prevents recovery for anyone found 51% or more at fault for a car accident.This will not only negatively impact victims who may be very seriously injured, but it incentivizes insurance companies to make findings of majority fault to try to dissuade victims from seeking compensation. 

Environmental Conservation  

A major issue in this year’s budget was the Governor’s proposed changes to the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, also known as the CLCPA, which was passed in 2019 and creates the framework for the state’s greenhouse gas emission goals.At the time this bill was passed, it was pioneering legislation that made New York a nationwide leader in climate policy. 

The changes to the CLCPA are premised on the idea that goals in the original bill are “too costly to implement.” This notion creates the false impression that investments in renewable energy generation are incompatible with affordability. This is simply not true. Renewable energy generation is cheaper than fossil fuel energy generation. But it does require an investment to get off the ground. 

Another disingenuous argument around these changes has been the idea that our current climate plan is increasing our utility costs. Let me be clear– the CLCPA has NOTHING to do with our current utility costs.In fact, the state recently lost a lawsuit related to the fact that they never promulgated the regulations to put the CLCPA, or the cap & invest funding program passed to pay for the CLCPA, into effect. How could it possibly be that utilities are increased today because of a plan that doesn't exist? 

The changes we implemented as part of the budget pushed back the timeline for achieving our goals and changed the accounting methodology we used for calculating methane emissions. Under the CLCPA we calculate methane emission reduction on a 10-year timeline. The Governor’s plan changed that to a 100-year timeline, which is the timeline used by most other states.This is the change I take the most issue with. Methane remains in the atmosphere for approximately 9 years. There is no scientific difference between a measurement of methane emissions taken 10 years, 50 years, or 100 years later because the methane is gone. A 100-year timeline is an accounting methodology better suited for carbon dioxide measurements than methane. This solution is one premised in math, not science. It will make it look like we made progress by simply dividing emission calculations by a higher number, but it doesn’t make reality any less real. 

The bill these changes appeared in contained a number of other important provisions that I believed in strongly, including changes to the Tier 6 pensions system to help hire and retain state workers, the ASAP Act which helps onboard solar projects and programs to help utility rate payers save money. I ultimately voted yes on this bill because I supported those other provisions and we don’t get to line item vote on each bill– it’s all or nothing. 

We were able to secure an additional $1 Billion Sustainable Futures Fund to support renewable energy infrastructure and greenhouse gas emission reduction programs. This is the second year of major investments in these programs, so even while we push our goals back, we are continuing to move forward and make the investments we need in a greener future.

The Sustainable Futures Fund includes 

• $500M for Greenhouse gas emission reduction for buildings
• $150M for thermal energy networks
• $150M for Empower +
• $150M for Housing and Community Renewal emission reduction programs
• $50M for Clean Green Schools
• $40M for weatherization assistance
• $75M for Zero Emission Vehicles and charging infrastructure
• $300M for renewable energy projects:
• Min. $200M for NY-SUN
• Min. $100M for renewable municipal energy and grid connectivity
• Min. $50M Methane mitigation, recycling and waste sector
• Min. $25M for municipal waste and recycling
• $25M for EPF
• $50M for any of the above purposes

Utility Payer Relief and Rate Case Reform 

• POWER Rate Refund Checks
  • For full year residents only
  • $200 for those earning below $150k/yr
  • $150 for those earning between $150k-$300k/yr
  • *Based on 2024 tax returns
• Creates the RATES Commission to study utility costs and energy investments
• Requires utility companies to disclose executive compensation
• Prevents utilities from raising rates to recover costs related to executive compensation
• Requires utilities to submit a “budget-constrained” rate proposal with any rate increase application to demonstrate their minimum need
• Creates the Excelsior Power Pilot Program to provide reduced utility bills to ratepayers using smart thermostat technology
• Funding for the Public Utility Law Project (PULP)

When utilities make requests for rate changes they will have to disclose their executive compensation and won't be allowed to include those compensation packages as part of their recoverable costs in the rate case.They will also be required to submit, along with their rate increase application, a plan that is "budget constrained," meaning that it outlines how much they need to increase their rate to maintain the status quo, as opposed to increasing funds to perform capital improvements such as upgrading or expanding the grid. That way, the Public Service Commission (PSC) can make an informed decision that balances basic needs of the utility with the impact on consumers.

The RATES commission, which will include experts from industry, academia and economics, will help us understand the full picture of our electrical needs, the costs associated, and how we can best address these issues to achieve our common goals of providing adequate electrical power in an environmentally and economically stable way. The cost of grid upgrades, which are needed whether or not our electrical needs increase, is the primary driver of our increased electrical costs, and we need to find a more efficient, affordable way to make those necessary upgrades without overburdening our rate payers.This commission will go a long way to helping us identify those mechanisms.

We also provide additional funding for the Public Utility Law Project (PULP) which helps consumers negotiate utility bill payment plans, address arrears, and represents the public in opposition to rate cases against utilities.

Health and Mental Health

• 2.7% Increase in Direct Service Provider Rates
• Includes OPWDD, OMH, OASAS, OTDA, OCFS, and SOFA staff
• $750 Million for Hospitals, Nursing Homes and Assisted Living
• Extends Requirement for Adequate Notice When Closing OPWDD Group Homes
• $50 Million in Hospice Funding
• Preserves Medicaid Coverage for Certain Seniors who will Fall Out of the Empire Plan

I am pleased to see an influx of funding for our hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities, though I do wish the split of that funding between those entities favored our nursing homes and assisted living slightly more.Not to take anything away from our hospitals, that need support now more than ever with the changes rolling out from the federal government, our nursing homes and assisted living facilities, who will receive less than 40% of this funding allocation, were in crisis even before the passage of HR1.In the Rochester area, our hospital systems also own a number of nursing homes, so hopefully we will be able to use this funding in a more equitable way than in other parts of the state.

I am also pleased to see a 2.7% targeted inflationary increase for our direct service providers (DSP), who do incredibly difficult work for some of our most vulnerable residents, though once again I do wish that amount was higher. The DSP field is a calling, and those that do it are some of the most patient, caring people in our communities.But they can't do this work if they can't survive on the pay.Disproportionately, DSPs are women, they are heads of household, they are often single mothers.Higher pay for DSP helps lift families out of poverty and helps maintain stability in our group homes and other congregate care settings.Too often, DSPs are leaving fields they love to work at Burger King because the pay is higher.We owe these hardworking heroes far more than we give them.

There are a number of other helpful, though wonky issues in this bill that I will not get into here.I was relieved that we were able to limit the damage done by the federal government this year. I am already girding myself for next year, when we will see the full impact of HR1 on our hospitals, municipalities, public health organizations and, of course, on the people of New York.

Childcare and UPK

• $1.6B for State-Wide UPK by 2028, with an increased per pupil rate
• $60B for universal childcare pilots in three upstate counties
• $3B in State-Wide funding for expanded access to the childcare subsidy program

Monroe County will receive $20 Million for a universal childcare pilot.This gives our region, much of which is classified as a childcare desert, an opportunity to shape the future of childcare in our state.