Cuomo, a Democrat, won a third term in November by running on an aggressively progressive platform that promised to make New York a leader among liberal states. And his new agenda, which he unveiled in his ninth State of the State address, seemed crafted with other Democrat-dominated states in mind.
By mandating that energy producers in the state rely completely on carbon-free electricity by 2040, something the governor described as the most aggressive clean power agenda in the country, New York would outpace a similar proposal in California that calls for such action by 2045.
“We know the future,” Cuomo said of his environmental plan. “Let New York lead.”
If the state succeeds in legalizing marijuana within 100 days, it could grab attention and revenue from New Jersey, which is looking to do the same. And if New York enacts the governor’s plan to ban single-use plastic shopping bags, it would be the second in the nation, after California.
Much of Cuomo’s plan would require legislative approval. But unlike in years past, when some of his plans were thwarted by a Republican-led state Senate, the governor is now operating with the first Democratic monopoly in the state Legislature in his eight years in office.
Indeed, even before Cuomo delivered his State of the State speech, the Legislature had in its first three days passed a suite of new voting and election reforms; banned conversion therapy for gay minors; and expanded legal protections for transgender people.
The governor also used the speech as an opportunity to unveil his budget proposal for the new fiscal year, which begins April 1. All told, the governor anticipates the state spending $175 billion next year, with some of the revenue coming from monetary settlements from legal actions.
The largest expenditure would, as always, go to education spending, which would see a $1 billion increase over the current year, to $27.7 billion. Cuomo also proposed new legislation requiring school districts to distribute state aid to their highest-need schools using a method modeled on the state’s formulas for giving aid to high-need districts.
One of the most closely watched parts of the governor’s speech was his plan to legalize recreational marijuana, a proposal that has taken on increased urgency as popular support has crescendoed.
Cuomo offered scant details, but he indicated that New York’s law would likely be more restrictive than in other states that have legalized recreational marijuana.
The drug would be available to adults 21 and older, and subject to local veto, with counties and large cities able to opt out. Cuomo has estimated that legalization would bring in $300 million each year in tax revenue by the time it was fully implemented.
That number, though, would not be available until the fiscal year starting in 2023, according to Cuomo’s budget director, Robert Mujica.
The initial rollout would bring in much less revenue, projections show. Budget documents released Tuesday projected no revenue from marijuana regulation and taxation for the 2020 fiscal year, and $83 million for 2021.
Cuomo also provided little detail about how the state would spend that revenue — a topic that has inspired intense speculation and suggestion, with proposals ranging from subway repairs to criminal justice rehabilitation to tax relief. In budget documents, the governor’s description of possible uses was just as far-flung, including beneficiaries such as small business development, substance abuse treatment and “any other identified purpose recommended” by a new cannabis office.
He also said that the state would seal certain cannabis-related criminal records, though he did not specify which ones. Several legislators and advocacy groups have demanded a social justice component to any legalization bill. Even before Cuomo’s speech had ended, some were pushing for more.
The embrace of marijuana marks a fast evolution in Cuomo’s thinking: Less than two years ago, he called it a “gateway drug.” But the political landscape has been upended since then, both in Albany — where a group of young insurgents helped take back the state Senate for Democrats — and the nation, where the Trump administration continues to act as both a foil and a punching bag for Cuomo.
At the same time, the governor said he wants to raise the statewide minimum age to purchase cigarettes to 21, and to prohibit the sale of tobacco products at pharmacies.
On New York City’s unraveling subway system — the source of much ire against the governor in recent years, at least from city residents — Cuomo proposed establishing clear authority for its oversight, which is divided between the state and city.
The governor has repeatedly denied responsibility for the subway’s deterioration, even though the state largely controls the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board, and Cuomo has, in recent years, shown an unparalleled ability to influence the agency’s decision-making, such as when he recently announced the cancellation of the planned L-train shutdown.
“Everybody can point fingers but nobody has responsibility and nobody has authority,” he said. “That is the fundamental problem with the MTA.” He did not say, however, who exactly would take on that clarified authority.
To fund the system, Cuomo once again proposed a congestion pricing plan, which would charge drivers who enter areas of Manhattan during the busiest times of day. The idea won support last year from powerful labor groups, business interests and activists, but foundered under objections from legislators from outside Manhattan.
The plan would bring in $15 billion, Cuomo’s office said — a figure that would amount to just a fraction of the amount the MTA has said it needs for its next capital plan.
And there is no guarantee that the plan would win more support this year, with many of the legislators last year who opposed it reaffirming their doubts. Even a stopgap measure last year, to add a surcharge to for-hire vehicles in Manhattan, has been held up by opposition from drivers.
The state also plans to push to legalize sports betting at its four casinos, hoping to pump life into several underperforming betting halls that were legalized in 2014. Sports betting would not be allowed at the state’s so-called racinos, such as Aqueduct or Yonkers.
The Green New Deal extends and expands the governor’s earlier mandate to make New York 50 percent carbon-free by 2030, a requirement created by regulatory order rather than state law; the new proposal, if passed by the Legislature, would be more difficult for future administrations to undo.
While the all-Democratic monopoly may make passing bills easier, the governor’s budget proposal comes amid ongoing worries about the larger economy and some troubling signs in New York. The governor’s budget office noted in a summary of the governor’s plan that personal income tax collections had been weaker than expected in recent weeks, something it said could be attributed to volatility in the stock market.
The governor, who has cut taxes on the middle class and corporations in years before, outlined a series of “revenue actions” to help fill the state’s coffers, including several that had previously languished in the Republican-led Senate. They included a long-suffering idea to require so-called “marketplace providers” like Amazon to collect sales tax. There was also a proposal to close the carried interest loophole, which allows hedge fund managers and real estate investors to pay a lower tax rate on their investment income rather than the higher rate on ordinary income.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.