Hochul and lawmakers agree on $229B NY budget with minimum wage increase and bail law changes.
New York state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul have agreed to a $229 billion state spending plan that will make changes to a controversial bail law, boost direct aid to schools by billions of dollars, and increase the state's minimum wage in the coming years. The budget will also expand charter schools in New York City, expand the child tax credit, and fund the state's system of publicly financed campaigns. The emergency rental assistance program will be expanded, and the state's 2019 law that limited the circumstances in which cash bail is required in criminal cases will be changed. The budget also includes measures to combat gun violence and increase Medicaid spending for hospitals and nursing homes.