Governor Kathy Hochul is scheduled to present her 2023–24 Executive budget proposal at noon on Wednesday, February 1, 2023, with the budget bills expected to be released thereafter. This will be Governor Hochul’s first Executive budget proposal since being elected Governor for a full four-year term, although it follows her first budget last year after she ascended to the governorship in September 2021. This will initiate the budget process, which will include legislative budget hearings, scheduled to begin on February 6; passage by the Senate and the Assembly of their preferences as reflected in their budget bills in mid-March; and finally, an agreement by the Governor and the Legislature on a final budget, to be passed on or around the start of the new State fiscal year on April 1.

While it is unclear whether the Governor’s proposed budget will exceed last year’s $220 billion enacted State budget, she has already announced in her State of the State Address several priorities that we expect to see in her budget bills, including proposed improvements to bail laws through the elimination of the “least restrictive” standard for serious crimes; an investment of more than $1 billion for mental health resources; a new Future of Health Care Commission to provide ongoing strategic guidance for the transformation of the health care system; the creation of the New York Housing Compact, which includes a number of policy proposals to build 800,000 new homes across the State; indexing the state’s minimum wage to keep pace with inflation; $35.2 million in new funding to support cybersecurity enhancements statewide; the creation of GO SEMI to oversee Micron’s $100 billion investment for a new megafab in Central New York; and the Waste Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act, which would require producer recycling.

We will be providing an overview of Governor Hochul’s budget once it is released, with a detailed analysis to follow.