After Governor Hochul unveiled the executive budget proposal in January, the Legislature has been holding budget hearings throughout February. The Senate and Assembly will now develop their own budget proposals, taking into account both the governor’s plan and input from various stakeholders. In early March, the Legislature and governor must reach a consensus on the total available budget. Once that is accomplished, both houses will introduce resolutions outlining their budget plans, which will then form the basis for three-way negotiations involving the governor, Senate, and Assembly. These negotiations are expected to begin on or around March 10.
There are several prevailing headwinds surrounding the budget conversation, including uncertainty from Washington and President Trump, unrest involving New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and issues related to prison closings and the correctional officers’ strike. While it is still too early to predict, I am not expecting an on-time budget this year.
Budget Items NRLA-NY is Tracking
- Limiting plaintiffs’ recovery of liquidated damages for violations of the frequency of payment provisions in the labor law.
- Unemployment insurance interest payments for employers: The governor included $165 million in her budget to alleviate these payments, and the Assembly appears to support this measure. We are currently advocating for the Senate to include it in its one-house budget as well.
- Governor’s Child Labor Task Force: This initiative rationalizes child labor penalties to align with the severity of violations. It also strengthens our ongoing conversations about unfair competition and child labor law violations across Western, Central, and Northern New York.
NRLA-NY Legislative Agenda for the 2025 Session
- Retainage Reform (S.4750/A.2212 – Martinez/Braunstein): We have prepared a memo in support for distribution to Senate and Assembly committees, leadership, and bill sponsors. Our focus remains on the Senate, as the bill passed in the Assembly last year and is expected to do so again in 2025. We are also working to schedule a meeting with Sen. Baskin, chair of the Senate Procurement and Contracts Committee, where the bill currently sits, as well as with Senate central staff.
- TEMP Act (S.3412/A.3527 – Ramos/Bronson): I am working on scheduling a follow-up meeting with Assemblyman Harry Bronson, the Assembly sponsor. We have provided him with specific industry data for review. Additionally, we are coordinating a lumberyard warehouse tour in Rochester in early spring. This will be a post-budget priority and a timely issue for our Lobby Day on May 14.
- Credit Card Swipe Fees (S.5587/A.4017 – Skoufis/McDonald): This bill, now introduced in both houses, would exclude sales tax and gratuities from credit card swipe fees. We are collaborating with several business organizations on a coordinated campaign to strengthen our position to advance this bill post-budget.
- Advanced Clean Truck Rule: While efforts remain focused on securing a delay in implementation, we are also engaging at the federal level, particularly through newly appointed EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, a former New York state senator and Long Island congressman.
- Workforce Development in the Construction Trades: As part of this year’s budget, we are advocating for an increase in the aidable cap on BOCES salaries for career and technical instructors, along with a proportionate increase in special services aid for school districts without a BOCES. We are also engaging with the governor’s office, Department of Labor, and Empire State Development to promote our mission to “educate, inspire, and connect people in pursuit of rewarding careers in the trades, driving economic growth while building and sustaining our communities.” Recently, Doug Ford of Curtis Lumber, Pam Stott of the Workforce Construction Trades Coalition, and I met with a Department of Labor representative at Curtis Lumber to advance these discussions. We are also exploring legislative and state grants to support student programming at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.
- Unfair Competition: Recent snow load pole barn collapses have provided an opportunity to educate legislators and regulators on industry operations and practices that may have contributed to these incidents.
Housing Affordability and Growth
A special thanks to Francis and Nicolina for developing policy recommendations under this initiative. In addition to our retainage bill, our platform includes:
- Supporting a sales tax exemption on building materials for affordable and workforce housing.
- Supporting a housing bond to increase the supply of affordable and workforce housing.
- Supporting zoning overlay districts for affordable and workforce housing.
- Supporting the reclassification of three- and four-family homes under the Residential Code.
- Supporting self-certification for building permits by licensed professionals.
- Supporting hard deadlines for inspections, with the option to use certified professionals if municipalities cannot meet deadlines.
More updates to come, but I have already reached out to a new Assembly legislator regarding sponsorship of one of these bills.