The New York executive budget by the numbers

Updated 4:23 p.m. Jan. 18.

Gov. Kathy Hochul laid out an ambitious fiscal plan, the largest in state history, in her first budget address as governor. The $216.3 billion proposal offered the dollars behind the agenda Hochul laid out in her State of the State address at the beginning of the month. “This is an extraordinary time and it will be met with extraordinary solutions,” the governor said in a brief virtual address to lay out her budget plan. “And we’re in a position to fully fund them.” 

Hochul’s executive budget includes record spending on education and the largest capital plan to improve infrastructure in state history. Thanks to an influx of federal dollars, higher than expected tax receipts and a resurgent stock market, Hochul said her budget is balanced not just for the coming year, but for the next four years as well. And she pledged that the state would not rely on one-time federal aid for recurring spending initiatives unless there is a reliable state funding stream in the future. 

The budget poses Hochul’s first real trial as governor and the first test of the cooperative governing style she has touted since taking office. She’ll have to work with lawmakers in the state Legislature to iron out the details and find compromise on areas of disagreement before the April 1 deadline. Here are some of the key numbers Hochul has proposed as the budget dance begins.

$216.3 billion – The total spending for fiscal year 2022-2023 according to the new executive budget. That’s compared to the $212 billion budget approved last year and the $192.9 billion Cuomo proposed in his final executive budget.

$31.2 billion – The record high state funding for schools, slightly more than the $29.5 billion approved as part of last year’s budget.

15% – The percent of the state’s operating budget that it will dedicate to reserves for an economic downturn. 

8% – The percentage increase to school funding for Foundation Aid, a formula that takes into account inequity in quality education access and was not fully funded until last year.

4 – The number of years that Hochul has proposed extending mayoral control of New York City schools.

3.1% – The percent of spending growth compared to last year, not adhering to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s 2% cap.

3 – The number of additional casino licenses the state could potentially award.

$2 billion – The amount of money dedicated to unspecified pandemic recovery efforts. That could even mean the Excluded Workers Fund that Hochul did not address in her budget, per Budget Director Robert Mujica. 

$1 billion – The funding dedicated to Hochul’s “war on potholes.”

$0 – The size of predicted budget shortfalls through fiscal year 2027.