New York State lawmakers agreed on a $156 billion fiscal 2017 budget Thursday night.
The new $55 billion State Transportation Plan commits $27.14 billion for the Department of Transportation and Thruway programs and $27.98 billion for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The fiscal plan announced by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan, R-East Northport, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx, and Senate Independent Democratic Conference Leader Jeffrey Klein, D-Bronx, holds spending growth at 2% for a sixth straight year.
“We are prioritizing infrastructure and transportation to not only restore what is, but also imagine and realize what can be,” said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a statement.
The State DOT program designates $21.1 billion for capital improvements of highways, bridges, rail and aviation infrastructure over a five-year period. An additional $2 billion is also geared toward New York State Thruway enhancements, which allows the New York State Thruway Authority to freeze toll rates until at least 2020.
The $27 billion MTA Capital Program allocates $26.6 billion for improvement of facilities operated by the New York City Transit Authority, Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad and MTA Bus. Major initiatives are also funded in the spending plan including $1.5 billion for Phase II of the Second Avenue Subway.
The budget deal also includes raising the state minimum wage in phases from $9 an hour to $15 per hour in New York City, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties. The wage is slated to reach $15 in New York City by Dec. 31, 2018 with Long Island and Westchester reaching this benchmark in late 2021. State officials estimate 2.3 million people will be affected by the minimum wage increase.
New York is rated Aa1 by Moody’s Investors Service, and AA-plus by Standard & Poor's, Fitch Ratings and Kroll Bond Rating Agency. A February report released by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli noted that state-supported debt outstanding is projected to increase 19.6% to $60.8 billion in fiscal 2021 under the planned $156 billion budget.
