Report from the New York State Democrats

Tompkins County
2019-2022

• Agriculture
  • Supported Farmers with Enhanced Tax Credits (FY’23 Budget, Statewide)
  • Created the Nourish New York program to better connect agricultural producers with food relief organizations such as food banks and pantries (Chap. 631 of 2021)
  • Legalized adult-use cannabis in New York State creating expanded opportunities for New York agriculture (Chap. 92 of 2021)
  • Enabled further growth in the hemp industry by creating a regulatory process for hemp extract and product marketing (Chap. 614 of 2019)
• Childcare
  • $7 billion investment over four years to fund a comprehensive expansion of childcare programs across New York State (FY’23 Budget, Statewide)
    • Increased the income eligibility threshold for childcare subsidies to 300 percent of the federal poverty level ($83,250 for a family of four), extending eligibility to more than half of young children in New York.
  • $16 million to establish childcare centers on SUNY campuses that do not currently have a childcare center (FY’23 Budget, Statewide
• Economic Development
  • $2.25 billion for the Regional Economic Development Councils that have funded thousands of projects creating or retaining hundreds of thousands of jobs statewide (FY’20-FY’23 Budgets, Statewide)
  • $1.45 billion investment in broadband infrastructure through the Working to Implement Reliable Equitable Deployment of Broadband (WIRED) Act (FY’23 Budget, Statewide)
  • $1 billion for Small Business and Arts Relief and Recovery Assistance (FY’22 Budget, Statewide)
  • $250 million for Restore NY to encourage community development neighborhood growth through the elimination and redevelopment of blighted structures (FY’23 Budget, Statewide)
  • $200 million for the Fast NY Grant Program to develop shovel-ready sites to attract high-tech manufacturing (FY’23 Budget, Statewide)
  • $100 million for the NY Forward Program to support smaller and rural downtowns with a focus on hamlets and villages (FY’23 Budget, Statewide)
  • $92 million (36%) increase in appropriations for the Arts between FY’19 and FY’23
• Education
  • $111.9 million for Total State Aid to School Districts in the FY’23 Budget
  • $13.4 million (13%) increase in four years
  • $67.8 million for Foundation Aid in the FY’23 Budget
  • $7 million (11%) increase in four years
  • $2.6 million for Universal Pre-Kindergarten in the FY’23 Budget
  • $864,000 (48%) increase in four years
  • 147 new full-day Pre-K slots
  • $100 million in mental health grants for school districts and BOCES, over two years (FY’23 Budget, Statewide)
• Environment
  • Authorized a $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act (on the 2022 General Election Ballot) (FY’23 Budget, Statewide)
  • $2 billion for clean water infrastructure (FY’20-FY’23 Budgets, Statewide)
  • $1.3 billion for the Environmental Protection Fund (FY’20-FY’23 Budgets, Statewide)
  • Increased annual appropriation to a record $400 million in the FY’23 Budget.
  • Passed The Climate Leadership and Climate Protection Act (CLCPA) to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions by 85% by 2050 (Chap. 106 of 2019)
• Healthcare
  • Passed the Reproductive Health Act to codify Roe v. Wade protecting choice and the right of women to make their own healthcare decisions. (Chap. 1 of 2019)
  • $20 billion multi-year healthcare investment including increasing the home care worker minimum wage and providing additional funding to hospitals struggling financially from the Covid-19 pandemic. (FY’23 Budget, Statewide)
  • Safe staffing for hospitals and nursing homes to advance patient safety (Chaps. 155 & 156 of 2021)
  • Established Paid Sick Leave for Working New Yorkers (FY’21 Budget, Statewide)
  • Expanded Medicaid coverage to include telehealth (FY’21 Budget, Statewide)
  • Eliminated Essential Plan Premiums (FY’22 Budget, Statewide)
    • Benefited more than 400,000 New Yorkers statewide earning between $39,300 and $52,400 for a family of four. Also expanded coverage to dental and vision.