Gov. Kathy Hochul signed two state budget bills into law over the last 24 hours.

“My north star was always: how will this reduce costs for New Yorkers? Whatever we did. And some of them were tough fights,” Hochul said inside an auto body shop at Global Gas Station in Upper Manhattan.

“Reduce the cost of auto insurance in the state of New York, we got it done!” she said, arguing her preferred policy changes should drive down premiums and reduce fraud.

What You Need To Know

  • Gov. Kathy Hochul signed two state budget bills into law over the last 24 hours

  • Those include provisions that would enact the car insurance changes she says should cut down on fraud and reduce premiums, crackdown on speeding in the city and create new penalties for anyone who intimidates people within 50 feet of a house of worship

  • As of Wednesday evening, the state Legislature voted on other budget bills in Albany containing the new pied-à-terre tax on second homes owned by people that are not full-time city residents, removing state income tax on tips and billions more in funding for the city

Hochul signed into law several policy provisions of her mammoth $268 billion spending plan, including:

  • A crackdown on drivers who wrack up 16 or more speeding tickets annually, giving the city a year to set up enforcement
  • 50-foot buffer zones outside houses of worship
  • Changes to the 2019 climate law and pensions for over 830,000 government employees
  • Speeding up the state’s environmental review process tied to development, known as SEQRA

“They should thrive here, they should see the promise of a better future not just for themselves but for their children,” she said.

As of Wednesday evening, the state Legislature voted on other budget bills in Albany containing the new pied-à-terre tax on second homes owned by people that are not full-time city residents, removing state income tax on tips and billions more in funding for the city.

“Since the Democrats took the majority in this chamber, spending has gone up in the state budget by over 100 billion dollars. That’s 100 billion dollars and people ask me, I’m sure they ask you as well Mr. President, what do you have to show for it?” griped Long Island Republican, State Sen. Jack Martins.

“I would have been happy to be done April 1,” said Hochul, when asked if she has any regrets about the long budget process — nearly two months past its deadline.

After Hochul declared victory in early May, legislative leaders hit back, arguing they were still weeks away from a budget agreement.

Some blamed her for introducing the new second home tax to help fill the city’s budget hole and amendments to the climate law.

“I don’t set the timetable on how long it takes for the legislature to understand this is my priority and I want to get this done, and that’s their time table, and they have a lot of questions, a lot of changes and a lot of input that’s part of the process,” Hochul said.

Legislative sources told NY1 they are hoping to finish voting before the week’s end, if not sooner.


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