New York lawmakers agreed to a $237 billion state budget for the 2025 fiscal year.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has since touted a few of the big items included in the budget plan. She highlighted a pathway to bolster housing development, cracking down on illegal cannabis shops, and funding for a new law enforcement retail crime task force.

One thing that is not changing in this year’s budget is the state’s Save Harmless program, which ensures schools do not receive less funding regardless of population loss.  

Assemblymember Al Stirpe joins JoDee Kenney to discuss the state’s budget agreement.

Stirpe says that retail theft has basically become an organized crime and that businesses are being given tax credits for things like security and cameras.

As for illegal cannabis shops, Stirpe says lawmakers have been working on trying to clarify what the language was going to be, what the penalties were going to be.

You can watch the full interview with Stripe in the video above. And be sure to tune in for a look inside the biggest issues impacting upstate New York, on In Focus with JoDee Kenney — every Sunday on Spectrum News 1.