In The News-New York State
Additional Funding for Localities & Nixing Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Outside NYC Highlight Governor’s 30-Day Executive Budget Amendments
Governor Kathy Hochul’s 30-Day Executive Budget Amendments were released yesterday afternoon, with New York City’s $1.5 billion bailout taking up the lion share of the $2.7 billion increase to the FY2027 spending plan. With the revisions, New York’s 2027 Executive Budget totals $262.7 billion.
According to the Division of Budget, the 30-Day amendments provide new funding for the City of New York including:
- $500 million in one-time general assistance;
- $300 million annually for youth diversion programs;
- Elimination of the interception of $150 million annually of NYC sales tax receipts used to fund NYC distressed providers;
- $58 million annually for an increase in the State’s General Public Health Work (GPHW) reimbursement rate for NYC to 36 percent, consistent with all other counties.
These increases bring total State support for NYC to over $28 billion in FY 2027. Outside of New York City, Governor Hochul added $100 million increase to the Temporary Municipal Assistance program for a total of $150 million, as well as, $30 million for the City of Buffalo and $20 million to assist other local governments.
Also, the amendments reflect additions to the Health Care Stability Fund, based on federal payments. In January 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule which will enable New York to collect additional Managed Care Organization (MCO) Tax assessment receipts through the end of Calendar Year 2026. Division of Budget expected the collections would cease after April 1, 2026. The final rule enables the State to collect eight quarters of collections, increasing spending related to the State share assessments and provides nearly $1 billion in additional resources to continue health care investments in FY 2027 and FY 2028.
As a result the Health Care Stability Fund will see additional allocations in FY2028. Under the adjusted schedule, New York clinics will be allocated Fund payments totaling $30 million in FY2027 (originally $20 million in the Executive Budget) and $30 million in FY2028 (originally $0).
The Governor also reconsidered the proposed pilot program for autonomous vehicles planned for localities outside of New York City. In January, she included language that would have enabled communities outside the city to allow a number of autonomous to pick up passengers. The proposal would have permitted private companies to seek approval from local governments.
State Senator Jeremy Cooney (D-Rochester), the chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, said he disagreed with the decision to pull back on the pilots.
“This is not science fiction; rather, a real opportunity to increase driver and pedestrian safety across our state,” he explained.
NYS Stops Issuing CDL Licenses and Renewals to Immigrants Following Fed Regulation Approval
Following final approval of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) amendments to the Federal regulations for State Driver’s Licensing Agencies (SDLAs) issuing commercial driving credentials to non-domiciled individuals, New York’s Department of Motor Vehicles has “indefinitely paused” its non-domiciled CDL program.
The FMCSA final rule limits eligibility for non-domiciled Commercial Learner’s Permits (CLPs) and Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs) for foreign-domiciled individuals to those who hold specific, verifiable employment-based nonimmigrant status.
“Upon specific order from the federal government, New York’s non-domiciled CDL program is indefinitely paused, including renewals,” State Department of Motor Vehicle spokesman Walter McClure said in a statement, according to published reports.
According to FMCSA, under the final rule:
- Eligibility is limited to H-2A (Temporary Agricultural Workers), H-2B (Temporary Non-Agricultural
- Workers), and E-2 (Treaty Investors) nonimmigrant status holders.
- Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) are no longer accepted as proof of eligibility.
- States must query the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE system to confirm every applicant’s immigration status.
Representatives of the State’s transportation sector, including school and public transportation providers, are left to manage the changing regulatory landscape.
In published reports, Carolyn Rinaldi, spokesperson for New York City’s largest school bus drivers union, the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1181, said the shifting guidance is destabilizing to school communities and unfair to drivers.
“They do not deserve to be punished for following the law and serving their communities with dedication and professionalism,” she said, in published reports.
Attorney General James Wins Challenge to Trump Administration’s Tariffs
Supreme Court Rules in Favor of AG James and 11 Other States Declaring “Emergency”
New York Attorney General Letitia James today won a ‘major victory’ after the United States Supreme Court ruled that tariffs imposed by the Trump administration under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) violate the law.
The court ruled in favor of Attorney General James and a coalition of 11 other attorneys general who sued the Trump administration in April 2025 for violating the law by imposing “massive new tariffs that severely disrupted the economy for workers and businesses.”
“These illegal tariffs caused immense economic chaos, raising costs for families and businesses throughout our country,” said Attorney General James. “The Supreme Court has agreed that this administration has no authority to impose massive new taxes on a whim. This is a critical victory for the rule of law and our economy, and I will keep fighting to protect New Yorkers from destructive policies that make life less affordable.”
In April 2025, Attorney General James and the coalition sued the Trump administration for unlawfully imposing tariffs under IEEPA. In May, the United States Court of International Trade ruled in favor of Attorney General James and the coalition, deciding that the Trump administration’s tariffs issued under IEEPA are invalid. In August, the U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed that the Trump administration does not have the authority to impose these tariffs by executive order under IEEPA.
The Supreme Court today ruled that the president does not have the authority to use IEEPA to impose sweeping tariffs.
Joining Attorney General James in this challenge to the administration’s tariffs are the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and Vermont.
In The News-New York City
NYC’s Fiscal Year 2027 Preliminary Budget Totals $127 Billion
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani this week released a $127 billion FY 2027 Preliminary Budget, a $5 billion increase from FY 2026.
Following a tumultuous start with an estimated $12 billion deficit, the City’s budget has slowly started to take shape, aided by billions in new tax revenue projected from Wall Street which whittled down the Mayor’s pre-budget release deficit to $7 billion. Governor Kathy Hochul stepped up on the eve of the preliminary budget release with an additional $1.5 billion in funds for the City. With additional foundation aid of $97 million, Mayor Mamdani’s Preliminary Budget presented on Tuesday showed a two-year gap of $5.4 billion.
On the revenue side, the Mamdani Administration’s “preferred solution” is recurring revenue: increasing personal income taxes on New Yorkers earning more than $1 million annually and raising taxes on the most profitable corporations. However, per Mayor Mamdani, absent new revenue authority, the City will use the “only tools currently available to increase revenue and fill this gap: property taxes and the use of reserves.”
The $127 billion FY 2027 Preliminary Budget assumes a 9.5 percent property tax rate increase — generating $3.7 billion in FY 2027. The City also applied $980 million from the city’s Rainy Day Reserve Fund in FY 2026 and $229 million from the Retiree Health Benefit Trust in FY 2027 in order to balance the budget as legally required.
On the expense side, according to the Mayor, the budget plan includes $14 billion in city-funded agency expense changes across the two fiscal years, the vast majority fills underbudgeted needs. Specifically, roughly 4 percent – $576 million – supports targeted investments, including:
- $100 million in FY 2026 for snow removal;
- $5 million in FY 2026 for warming centers and shelter connections for homeless New Yorkers;
- $11.9 million in FY 2027 for new Street Health Outreach & Wellness (SHOW) mobile units and a new Bridge to Home site for people living with severe mental illness;
- $5.3 million in FY 2026 and $38 million in FY27 for 200 new attorneys and 100 support staff to reduce tort liability and advance affordability efforts; and
- more than tripling baseline funding for HRA’s Community Food Connection program with an addition of $54 million in FY 2027.
In addition, The Preliminary Five-Year Capital Plan totals $113 billion in all-funds and includes $662
million in FY 2027 to modernize and preserve more than 3,200 affordable housing units and $48.2 million starting in FY 2027 to fully fund the renovation and expansion of Bellevue’s Adult Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program.
The City Council, led by Speaker Julie Menin, indicated that it will release its own projections ahead of preliminary budget hearings and will conduct a thorough review of the Administration’s financial projections.
“At a time when New Yorkers are already grappling with an affordability crisis, dipping into rainy day reserves and proposing significant property tax increases should not be on the table whatsoever,” Speaker Menin and Finance Chair Linda Lee explained. “The Council believes there are additional areas of savings and revenue that deserve careful scrutiny before increasing the burden on small property owners and neighborhood small businesses, which could worsen the affordability crisis.”
Mayor Mamdani Announces Six Appointees to the Rent Guidelines Board
New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani this week announced the appointment of six new members of the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB).
The RGB is an independent body charged with determining rent adjustments for apartments, lofts and single-room occupancy (SRO) units subject to the city’s rent stabilization law. In the coming months, the Board will consider a variety of factors in setting adjustments, including the economic condition of housing in New York City, current and projected cost-of-living trends, overall housing supply and vacancy rates, tenants’ ability to pay rent, staff research and public testimony.
Chantella Mitchell will serve as the Chair of the RGB. She is a Program Director at the New York Community Trust, where she leads grantmaking in community development, housing, workforce development and social work education and practice. She is co-chair of both the Change Capital Fund and the New York City Workforce Funders Collaborative.
She previously worked for the City of New York, including as an Executive Director at the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Office of Development, and on the Housing and Economic Development Taskforce at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
The Mayor also appointed the following:
- Public Representatives: Sina Sinai (Senior Research Associate at the Jain Family Institute), Lauren Melodia (Director of Economic and Fiscal Policy at the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School) and Brandon Mancilla Region (9A Director of the United Auto Workers).
- Owner representative: Maksim Wynn (Director of Development at Procida Development Group).
- Tenant representative: Adán Soltren (Supervising Attorney at the Legal Aid Society).
The new appointees join Arpit Gupta, Christina Smyth, and Sagar Sharma on the nine-member board.
This spring, the RGB will collect and publish data and hear expert testimony before setting a preliminary range for rent adjustments. The Board will then hold public hearings across the five boroughs, inviting members of the public to testify. Finally, the RGB will vote on a final rent adjustment, which will apply to leases with effective dates between October 1, 2026 and September 30, 2027.
Briefs
Governor Hochul Announces EXPRESS NY, a New Statewide Effort to Streamline Regulations and Improve How Government Works
Governor Kathy Hochul has launched EXPRESS NY (Expediting Processes and Regulations to Enable Streamlined Services), a new statewide effort to make government work better by revising outdated and burdensome regulations, policies, and practice.
The new portal will allow New Yorkers to identify regulations, policies, and practices that add unnecessary process, undue burden, or are out of date. Specific areas of focus include recommendations that will:
- Speed up housing & infrastructure development by addressing obstacles that slow down our ability to build affordable housing and other infrastructure New Yorkers depend on: transportation, child care centers, water infrastructure, parks, community centers, and more.
- Support small businesses by tackling burdensome requirements and fees that make it difficult for businesses to launch, serve customers, or grow.
- Streamline access to services by simplifying complicated processes or removing unnecessary hurdles that prevent families from accessing benefits and services that New York State supports or oversees (e.g., healthcare, child care, nutrition, mental health).
New Yorkers should submit ideas in a new portal that the State has launched. The call for ideas will be open until April 3.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani Announces Commissioners for International Affairs and Immigrant Affairs
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani announced the appointments of Ana Maria Archila as Commissioner of International Affairs and Faiza Ali as Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs.
Archila, former co-director of the New York Working Families Party (NYWFP), will serve as the city’s chief liaison to the United Nations and the State Department. In leading the Mayor’s Office for International Affairs, Archila will advise city agencies on diplomatic matters, welcome foreign diplomats to New York and run leadership development programs like the NYC Junior Ambassadors. As commissioner, Archila will work to ensure New York City remains a welcoming home to the global community. She ran for Lieutenant Governor of New York in 2022 and most recently served as co-director of the NY Working Families Party.
Ali, who has served in the City Council for over a decade, most recently as the former Speaker’s Deputy Chief of Staff of Community Engagement. Prior to joining the Council, Ali was the Advocacy & Civic Engagement Director for the Arab American Association of NY and co-founded the Muslim Democratic Club of New York. She also served as Director of Advocacy at the Arab American Association of New York, an organizer with Brooklyn Congregations United and Director of Community Affairs at CAIR-NY.
February – March 2026 Legislative Session Calendar
Coming Up
New York State
Monday, February 23rd
New York State Senate Session, Senate Chamber – Albany, 3 p.m.
New York State Assembly Session, Assembly Chamber – Albany, 2 p.m.
Tuesday, February 24th
Joint Legislative Public Hearing on 2026 Executive Budget Proposal, Topic – Higher Education, Hearing Room B – Legislative Office Building, 9:30 a.m.
Senate Housing, Construction and Community Development Committee Meeting,511 Legislative Office Building, 9:30 a.m.
Senate Education Committee Meeting, 510 Legislative Office Building, 10 a.m.
Senate Agriculture Committee Meeting, 123 Capitol Building, 10 a.m.
Senate Judiciary Committee Meeting, 124 Capitol Building, 10 a.m.
Senate Consumer Protection Committee Meeting, 804 Legislative Office Building, 10:30 a.m.
Senate Banks Committee Meeting, 710 Legislative Office Building, 10:30 a.m.
Senate Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Meeting, 124 Capitol Building, 11 a.m.
Senate Elections Committee Meeting, 123 Capitol Building, 11 a.m.
Senate Codes Committee Meeting, 124 Capitol Building, 11:30 a.m.
Senate Transportation Committee Meeting, 801 Legislative Office Building, 11:30 a.m.
Senate Environmental Conservation Committee Meeting, 123 Capitol Building, 12 p.m.
Senate Health Committee Meeting, 124 Capitol Building, 12 p.m.
Senate Labor Committee Meeting, 308 Legislative Office Building, 12 p.m.
Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee Meeting, 123 Capitol Building, 12:30 p.m.
New York State Senate Session, Senate Chamber – Albany, 3 p.m.
New York State Assembly Session, Assembly Chamber – Albany
Wednesday, February 25th
Senate Women’s Issues Committee Meeting, 801 Legislative Office Building, 9:30 a.m.
Joint Legislative Public Hearing on 2026 Executive Budget Proposal, Topic – Workforce Development, Hearing Room B – Legislative Office Building, 9:30 a.m.
Senate Internet and Technology Committee Meeting, 124 Capitol Building, 11:30 a.m.
Joint Legislative Public Hearing on 2026 Executive Budget Proposal, Topic – Housing, Legislative Office Building – Hearing Room B, 2 p.m.
New York State Senate Session, Senate Chamber – Albany, 3 p.m.
New York State Assembly Session, Assembly Chamber – Albany
Thursday, February 26th
Joint Legislative Public Hearing on 2026 Executive Proposal, Topic – Economic Development, Hearing Room B – Legislative Office Building, 9:30 a.m.
New York State Senate Session, Senate Chamber – Albany, 11 a.m.
New York State Assembly Session, Assembly Chamber – Albany
New York City
Monday, February 23rd
Committee on Workforce Development, 250 Broadway – 8th Floor – Hearing Room 1, 10 a.m.
Committee on Higher Education, 250 Broadway – 8th Floor – Hearing Room 1, 10 a.m.
Committee on Women and Gender Equity, Council Chambers – City Hall, 10 a.m.
Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises, Committee Room – City Hall, 11 a.m.
Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Sitings, Resiliency and Dispositions, Committee Room – City Hall, 11:15 a.m.
Committee on Land Use, Committee Room – City Hall, 11:30 a.m.
Committee on Disabilities, 250 Broadway – 8th Floor – Hearing Room 1, 1 p.m.
Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management, 250 Broadway – 8th Floor – Hearing Room 1, 1 p.m.
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 250 Broadway – 8th Floor – Hearing Room 1, 1 p.m.
Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection, 250 Broadway – 8th Floor – Hearing Room 3, 1 p.m.
Tuesday, February 24th
City Council Stated Meeting, Council Chambers – City Hall, 1:30 p.m.
Wednesday, February 25th
Committee on Rules, Privileges, Elections, Standards and Ethics, Committee Room – City Hall, 10 a.m.
Committee on Governmental Operations, State & Federal Legislation, 250 Broadway – 8th Floor – Hearing Room 3, 10 a.m.
Committee to Combat Hate, Council Chamber – City Hall, 10 a.m.
Committee on Fire and Emergency Management, 250 Broadway – 8th Floor – Hearing Room 1, 10 a.m.
Committee on Contracts, 250 Broadway – 8th Floor – Hearing Room 2, 11:30 a.m.
Committee on Environmental Protection and Waterfronts, 250 Broadway – Hearing Room 3, 1 p.m.
Thursday, February 26th
Committee on Civil and Human Rights, 250 Broadway – 8th Floor – Hearing Room 1, 10 a.m.
Committee on Public Safety, 250 Broadway – 8th Floor – Hearing Room 1, 1 p.m.
Committee on Children and Youth, 250 Broadway – 8th Floor – Hearing Room 3, 1 p.m.
Committee on Economic Development, 250 Broadway – 8th Floor – Hearing Room 1, 1 p.m.