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New York State Budget Deal Brings Congestion Pricing, Plastic Bag Ban and Mansion Tax
Source: New York Times
New York State Budget Deal Brings Congestion Pricing, Plastic Bag Ban and Mansion Tax
By Jesse McKinley and Vivian Wang
March 31, 2019
ALBANY — After weeks of intraparty bickering, the New York Legislature and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo agreed to a $175 billion budget early Sunday morning, approving several progressive initiatives, including changes to the cash bail system, a new tax on high-end homes and a groundbreaking plan to charge motorists to drive into Manhattan’s busiest stretches.
In typical fashion for a State Capitol known for its peculiar and sometimes dysfunctional habits, the deal was announced after midnight via a five-page news release. But that rollout belied both the significance of some of the changes, as well as the size of the state’s spending, second only to California’s.
Lawmakers were set to vote on the budget later Sunday.
The budget included major victories for the resurgent left wing of the Democratic Party, which in November had helped Democrats win control of the State Senate for the first time in a decade. Newly elected lawmakers had pledged to get big money out of politics, raise taxes on the wealthy, rescue the city’s subway system and overhaul a criminal justice system that disproportionately targets minority communities.
But the deal also showed the limits of those campaign promises. Activists criticized a plan to empower small campaign donors as halfhearted. A measure to tax luxury homes was refashioned at the last minute. And, perhaps most significant, hopes for legalizing the recreational use of marijuana were dashed, though lawmakers could still approve that separately later in the legislative session.
-snip-
By Jesse McKinley and Vivian Wang
March 31, 2019
ALBANY — After weeks of intraparty bickering, the New York Legislature and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo agreed to a $175 billion budget early Sunday morning, approving several progressive initiatives, including changes to the cash bail system, a new tax on high-end homes and a groundbreaking plan to charge motorists to drive into Manhattan’s busiest stretches.
In typical fashion for a State Capitol known for its peculiar and sometimes dysfunctional habits, the deal was announced after midnight via a five-page news release. But that rollout belied both the significance of some of the changes, as well as the size of the state’s spending, second only to California’s.
Lawmakers were set to vote on the budget later Sunday.
The budget included major victories for the resurgent left wing of the Democratic Party, which in November had helped Democrats win control of the State Senate for the first time in a decade. Newly elected lawmakers had pledged to get big money out of politics, raise taxes on the wealthy, rescue the city’s subway system and overhaul a criminal justice system that disproportionately targets minority communities.
But the deal also showed the limits of those campaign promises. Activists criticized a plan to empower small campaign donors as halfhearted. A measure to tax luxury homes was refashioned at the last minute. And, perhaps most significant, hopes for legalizing the recreational use of marijuana were dashed, though lawmakers could still approve that separately later in the legislative session.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/31/nyregion/budget-new-york-congestion-pricing.html
