Governor Hochul speaks in front of a crowd of Union workers in Buffalo

 

FY 2024 Budget Raises Minimum Wage to $16-Per Hour Upstate by 2026, Ties Future Wage Increases to Inflation

Adds $391 Million for New York's Emergency Rental Assistance Program to Support Thousands More Tenants and Families, Including Public Housing Residents and Section 8 Voucher Recipients

Expands Empire State Child Credit to Children Under Four, Supporting Nearly 630,000 Additional Children

Includes Nation-Leading Climate Measures that Provide Labor Protections and Project Labor Agreements

 Governor Kathy Hochul today highlighted FY 2024 Budget investments to support workers in Western New York and make the state more affordable. The Budget includes investments to address the affordability crisis by raising the upstate minimum wage to $15-per-hour in 2024, followed by $0.50 annual increases in 2025 and 2026 and tying future increases to the Consumer Price Index; expanding the Emergency Rental Assistance Program to support thousands more renters, including public housing residents and Section 8 voucher recipients; enhancing the Empire State Child Credit to cover children under the age of four; and supporting New York's green economy workers. Governor Hochul was joined by leaders of organized labor and local elected officials at today's announcement.

"Labor is in my DNA — that's why I prioritized historic investments in my Budget to support workers here in Western New York and across the State, while addressing the rising costs of living," Governor Hochul said. "These investments will ensure that New York families can access the jobs, child care, and resources they need to thrive, and we will never waver in our efforts to build a more livable and more affordable New York."

The cost of living for working families in New York State has risen significantly in this year alone. A recent Ford Foundation report found that 50 percent of all working-age New Yorkers are struggling to afford their basic needs. Latino/a, Black, and immigrant New Yorkers, as well as households with children are disproportionately impacted by the increased cost of living. In response, Governor Hochul fought to implement transformative measures in the FY 2024 Budget to deliver economic security to New Yorkers.

The transformative initiatives and investments included in the Budget to support workers and make New York more affordable include:

• Increasing New York's minimum wage to $16-per hour upstate and $17-per-hour downstate by 2026, then tying future wage increases to the three-year moving average of the CPI-W for the Northeast Region — the best regional measure for inflation — to make sure New Yorkers' paychecks reflect the rising cost of living
• Adding $391 million to New York's Emergency Rental Assistance Program to support additional tenants and families, including public housing residents and recipients of federal Section 8 vouchers
• Investing $50 million in a Homeowner Stabilization Fund to finance home repairs in 10 communities across the state that have been identified as having high levels of low-income homeowners of color and homeowner distress
• Expanding the Empire State Child Credit to include children under four years of age, which will provide $179 million in total support for over 525,000 low and middle-income taxpayers by covering nearly 630,000 additional children
• Increasing public assistance recipients' access to education and training opportunities by eliminating the requirement for education to be combined with other activities after 12 months of post-secondary education
• Mitigating of the public assistance "benefits cliff" by disregarding income earned by recipients through workforce training programs and for six months after job entry, eliminating a key barrier to workforce participation for low-income New Yorkers
• Creating the Youth Jobs Connector program to provide robust educational support and job training to unemployed and underemployed young people ages 16 to 24 and prepare them for the job market
• Securing nation-leading climate measures, including building decarbonization, a path forward on an affordable cap and invest program, and advancing renewable energy development, that include provisions for labor protections and project labor agreements
• Providing $400 million of relief to New Yorkers experiencing high electric bills as well as lowering energy burdens through electrifications and retrofits