Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed off on major parts of policy in the $237 billion state budget.
Both the New York state Senate and Assembly had approved the budget earlier Saturday, which was nearly three weeks overdue.
Government leaders touted a crackdown on illegal cannabis shops in the state, as well as over $40 million for a new law enforcement-run retail crime task force.
A number of housing-related policy changes became a focal point of negotiations and includes tax-breaks for developers of new housing.
More strict rules on evicting tenants will be put in place in New York City and other communities can opt into the program.
Lawmakers passed the health spending portion of the budget Friday. Hospitals will receive an aggregate amount of $525 million in Medicaid reimbursement rates and $285 million for nursing homes — which is lower than what providers asked for.
Gov. Hochul issued a statement following the budget's passing, saying:
“In my State of the State, I promised New Yorkers we’d fight to build more housing, improve education and protect public safety — and that’s exactly what our budget is going to do.
“This budget agreement represents the most significant improvement in housing policy in three generations. It includes transformative investments in health care and education that will put our State on the path to fiscal stability. It will end co-pays for insulin, establish first-in-the-nation paid prenatal leave, and launch the EmpireAI consortium. This budget cracks down on retail theft and gives us new tools to shut down illicit cannabis storefronts. It helps the children of New York City by extending mayoral accountability for public schools. And we got it all done without raising income taxes by a single cent.
“I’m grateful to Speaker Heastie, Leader Stewart-Cousins and my colleagues in the Legislature for their collaboration on this agreement, and look forward to continuing to work together.”
