March 2, 2021

Last night we sent all members information regarding intensifying budget negotiations in Albany, along with an article discussing what may happen in the days to come as lawmakers work to limit the extraordinary powers they gave to Governor Cuomo at the beginning of the COVID 19 crisis.  Our information stated that before one house bills are made public, a revenue estimate that identifies available revenues beyond what’s needed to pay for the base state budget, needs to be identified and agreed upon by the leaders.

Late yesterday the Consensus Economic Revenue Forecast was released by the Finance Chairs and Rankers in the Senate and Assembly, along with Robert Mujica, Director, NYS Division of the Budget.   This is a forecast of available revenues for the FY2022, FY 2023 budget cycles.  As we all know, forecasts can and will change .  But for the moment this is what lawmakers will work off of as they work to fulfill their budget making responsibilities.

For those so inclined, here’s the Report:
https://www.budget.ny.gov/pubs/press/2021/ercfr/consensus-economic-revenue-forecast-fy22.pdf

Also, below please find an article from the New York Times that depicts the reality of how states (including NYS) have fared (to date) economically during the COVID-19 crisis.

Virus Did Not Bring Financial Rout That Many States Feared
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/01/business/covid-state-tax-revenue.html?referringSource=articleShare