In the other 49 states and in the Federal Government, there is legislative budgeting: the Executive proposes a budget, but the legislature makes the final budget. We have the opposite system here in New York State. With executive budgeting, the Governor creates the budget, and the legislature can only subtract or delete or threaten not to pass a budget altogether. Because the legislature is most reluctant to vote down the budget, the Governor inserted policy items into the budget that would never pass as standalone bills. This year, the Governor severely abused this power, resulting in the budget being 57 days late. The budget this year contained some positive, smaller-scale policy items, but on the big issues, many were deeply problematic.

I am happy to share that we secured $333,000 in critical funding for community organizations in the 110th Assembly District. Additionally, there is a $50 million increase in funding, which the Legislature fought for, over what the Governor proposed for the Consolidated Highway Improvement Program (CHIPs). CHIPs funding goes directly to our cities, towns, villages, and counties to pay for repairs and maintenance to local roads and bridges, reducing the burden on local taxpayers while improving road safety for communities across New York. The budget also includes a substantial increase in Aid to Municipalities funding, providing additional resources to local governments and helping communities throughout the 110th Assembly District address local needs and priorities.

As Chair of the Committee on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, I must point out that the budget contains some improvements in the area of addiction treatment.Since the legalization of online sports betting, New York State has seen a rapid increase in problem gambling. As a state, it is our responsibility to protect the public and help those who are struggling receive treatment. My legislation to require health insurance plans to cover problem gambling was included in this year’s budget. This legislation is an important step toward ensuring that those who want help can access the care they need without paying out of pocket or going without treatment altogether. At the same time, we cannot solely focus on treatment after the fact. We need to continue to pass meaningful legislation to establish safeguards to prevent gambling addiction before it starts.

This year’s budget continues to provide $1.2 million for 12 not-for-profit programs that treat co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders. I have heard directly from patients and providers who have benefited from this funding and received it as soon as the budget passed. I will continue to advocate not only for the continuation of this funding but also for expanding it to more not-for-profit organizations so we can comprehensively treat patients in recovery.

Lastly, throughout the year, my office has repeatedly received numerous calls from constituents rightfully concerned about the actions of ICE and the abrasive tactics they have used throughout the country. The Trump Administration's use of ICE has not only resulted in American citizens being accidentally deported, but it has also resulted in the deaths of several individuals, most prominently in Minnesota. While I have been outspoken in my criticism of ICE, I have also cautioned constituents that we need to strike the right balance to ensure that lawfully issued immigration warrants and proceedings can still occur. I believe the provisions in the budget strike this balance.New York now prohibits ICE agents from wearing masks for the sole purpose of concealing their identities, places limits on how local law enforcement can cooperate with ICE and restricts ICE from entering sensitive locations without a lawfully issued warrant. These provisions do not obstruct our legal immigration system in any way and will not prevent law enforcement from taking action against those who commit crimes or otherwise violate the law.

Unfortunately, there were some policy proposals of the Governor that I could not support in good conscience, the most egregious being the Governor’s insistence on weakening New York’s climate laws under the guise of “affordability.” Around the world, countries like Australia, Northern Europe, and China are reducing energy costs by investing in clean energy. New York is falling behind due to outdated corporate ideology and the subsidization of fossil fuels. This is not just about the environment; it is about how we can meaningfully address the energy affordability crisis that constituents in the 110th District are facing.We need to remember that New York produces very little energy of its own.We cannot afford to leave ourselves at the mercy of the purveyors of natural gas and oil.

In addition to the weakening of our state’s climate laws, I could not support the Governor's plan to transfer $1.5 billion from the general fund to New York City to expand childcare programs for city residents. In 2014, Bill de Blasio was elected Mayor of New York City. He ran on a platform that included a surtax on city residents earning over $500,000 to fund Universal Pre-K for four-year-old children in New York City. However, Governor Cuomo did not want to increase taxes on high earners, so he redirected funds from the state general fund to pay for universal Pre-K only in New York City. Today, in upstate New York, we have a lottery system where only about 50% of families receive state-funded preschool; the other half must pay roughly $15,000 to $20,000 a year to buy preschool in the private sector. It is neither fair nor just for taxpayers across New York State to pay for a preschool program available only to New York City residents.This year Governor Hochul compounded the error by funding 3-year-old pre-K in NYC only when Upstate has no such benefit at all.

I also could not justify voting for the Office of Court Administration to receive an 8% budget increase while the Office of Addiction and Support Services (OASAS) receives a 0.1% budget increase. OCA should be funding improvements and expansion of drug courts. OASAS simply cannot pick up the slack for the Court system.

As we conclude the budget process, I remain deeply alarmed by the expansion of gubernatorial authority in this area. Because of the incredible power we have ceded to the Governor, we now only have six days to pass meaningful legislation to lower costs for working families and protect New Yorkers from dangerous substances, including synthetic kratom (also known as gas station heroin, which is in the same class as other opioids). As a legislature, we need to have a serious conversation about regaining our influence in the budget process. We cannot continue to allow the Governor to insert policy items into the budget, which have stretched the budget negotiations into the last week of May.

During the last days of session, I will remain focused on lowering costs for my constituents and ensuring that we prevent and treat substance use disorder and other harmful addictions more effectively.