Gov. Andrew Cuomo officially unveiled his state budget proposal for the 2018 fiscal year to lawmakers and the public last night. The $152.3 billion plan includes the proposals the governor unveiled during his regional state of the state addresses last week. He says this budget proposal has one main focus, helping the middle class.
“This is a very specific, focused, targeted agenda. This is about helping the middle class. The middle class has felt a lot of pain for a lot of years. They’ve gotten hit on every front, and the government that was supposed to help them has become disconnected.”
Besides what the governor is calling the “Middle Class Recovery Act,” his spending plan also includes a controversial tax on the state’s wealthiest residents and an increase in education aid to $25.6 billion. The budget will now be considered by legislators. Cuomo will meet with President-elect Donald Trump today to raise concerns about the impact a repeal of the Affordable Care Act would have on the state’s finances.
