What's in Hochul's budget amendments released Thursday

Including more revenue, new aid for municipalities and the removal of her self-driving car proposal.

Good afternoon — It’s Thursday and World Anthropology Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• Gov. Kathy Hochul’s 30-day budget amendments include more than $2 billion in new spending and at least one significant policy shift.

• It includes items we didn’t know about, included some updated revenue projections and spending for localities outside New York City.

• The U.S. Supreme Court will decide New York’s immediate redistricting future after a state appellate court rejected a Republican request Thursday.

• New York is proposing to change regulations around how drivers are tested for alcohol levels when suspected of DWI.

• A new bill seeks not only to require ICE agents to remove their masks but would also mandate them to reveal their identity and badge number.

Names in today’s CapCon: Kathy Hochul, Barbara Van Epps, Sean Ryan, Jeremy Cooney, Jeffrey Pearlman, Nicole Malliotakis, Edward F. Cox, Zohran Mamdani

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(Will Waldron/Times Union)

💰 Hochul’s 30-day budget amendments are out. Here’s what’s in them

Gov. Kathy Hochul issued amendments to her executive budget Thursday, including measures that would increase spending by more than $2 billion above what she proposed in January.

If you’re not familiar, the state constitution allows the governor to amend the executive budget proposal within 30 days of it being released. Today was that deadline.

We already knew some of what’s been added to Hochul’s spending plan, including $1.5 billion in additional state aid to help New York City close its $5.4 billion two-year budget gap. That’s the bulk of the new spending.

But New York City is not the only locality in the state that’s facing fierce fiscal challenges, and Hochul is now seeking in her amendments to help close those gaps.

All funds spending in Hochul’s proposed budget, which is the combination of state and federal money, is now projected to be $262.7 billion. Her initial budget in January projected spending at $260 billion.

The amendments would increase State Operating Funds portion of the budget from $157.6 billion to $158.9 billion.

There’s also at least one major policy reversal from what she proposed in her executive budget in January.

1. A bit more revenue but slightly bigger out-year gaps

The state Division of Budget is now projecting $600 million more investment income for the next fiscal year and $450 million each year thereafter.

Hochul is also proposing to use $340 million in available interest earned on funding awarded under the federal American Rescue Plan Act in the next fiscal year. It was originally going to be used in later years.

She’s using that money to help offset one-time municipal assistance, some of which is described below. But those changes are estimated to increase out-year budget gaps by $355 million.