Issues

Pete Harckham on the NYS FY2025-26 Budget:

Pete Harckham with constituents at the Katonah Village Library

Items I fought for and helped secure, $$ back to SD40:

Affordability:

 Middle-class tax cut, sixth year in the past seven: lowest rates effective in2026

 Inflation Refund Check—up to $400 for Joint filers, $200 for single filers

 Small Business Tax Credits—Excelsior Job Program, START-UP NY, Jobs

Retention:

 Cut taxes for self-employed workers by raising the MTA Payroll Mobility

Tax threshold:

 3-year expansion of child tax credit--$1,000/ yr for children under 4, $330-500 other kids

Relief for High Utility Costs:

 $50 million for EmPower Plus—energy efficient upgrades in homes

 $25 million extra for Home Energy Affordability Program (HEAP), total

now $423M—help for 1.8 million lowest income New Yorkers with their heating bills

 $2.5 million for Public Utility Law Project (PULP)—helping Nyers fight billing issues

Education - fulfills the Senate Majority’s commitment to fully fund education

 $26 billion in Foundation Aid funding

 Additional school aid in SD40: $42,9845,601—an additional $252 million since 2019

 $100 million additional Foundation Aid just for SD40 schools!

 Katonah-Lewisboro: $11.1 million total aid +$2.9 million since 2019

 Bedford: $9.6 million total aid +$2.2 million since 2019

 $340 million to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students statewide    

Roads:

 $800 million increase for the Department of Transportation Capital Plan

 Two-year increase of $50 million for CHIPS; this year’s total is $648 million

Protecting the Environment:

 Added $25 million to the Environmental Protection Fund, raising it to $425 million

 $1 billion for the Sustainable Futures Program: includes $50M for clean green schools, $50M EmPower Plus, $250M zero emission vehicles and charging infrastructure, $200M for renewable energy projects, $200M for thermal networks for SUNY, CUNY

Community Investments:

 $2.8 million for 2-1-1 Helpline funding--provides vital info, referral services for residents

 $15 million for PFOS filters

 $500K for billion oyster project between Cuomo Bridge and Ossining

 $500K Teatown expansion

 $1 million for Children’s Village housing in Peekskill

MTA Capital Plan:

 MTA five-year Capital Plan, $68.4 billion—includes $6 billion for Metro-North

 $106 billion Total Econ Activity; Hudson Valley, $6.1 billion, 9,200 Hudson Valley jobs

 $800 million Hudson Line resilience projects

 $1 billion for station construction including the Chappaqua, Golden’sBridge, Purdy’s, Croton Falls, and Brewster stations; redesign of Mount Kisco, Bedford Hills, Katonah, and Southeast.

$10 million for legal fees for AG James, other NYers sued by federal govt

 The fund would cover legal fees for all state lawmakers/officials and employees should they be investigated by the Federal administration

 Applies to two categories of employees: state workers who are implicated in federal proceeding as a result of their job duties as well as cases where a federal proceeding is “unrelated to the employee’s state employment or duties, but is reasonably likely to have been commenced because of or in response to the employee’s state employment or exercise of their duties.”

 The funds will be accessible to all public servants, not just one particular office(s), and is only reimbursable if the individual is found not guilty. The Attorney General’s office will be responsible for determining which cases meet the threshold for qualifying. In the event that it’s the Attorney General’s office being targeted, the Governor will decide.