NYS Budget: Hochul proposes $2.4B for asylum seeker housing, services in $233B budget plan
New York would hike its annual spending on housing and services for asylum seekers to $2.4 billion in the budget proposal Gov. Kathy Hochul is introducing on Tuesday.
Her $232.7 billion plan for the fiscal year that begins on April 1 includes that funding to help New York City continue to provide shelter and services for thousands of migrants bused to the city from the nation's southern border.
The amount Hochul is proposing is $500 million higher than the $1.9 billion the state has committed for the current fiscal year.
The state's funding commitment for migrants includes paying for large-scale emergency shelters at Randall's Island, the state-owned Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens and at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn.
Hochul plans: Budget preview: What will Hochul propose as NY faces $4.3B deficit, ongoing migrant costs?
Hochul's spending plan increases aid for public schools though not by the large amounts Albany delivered last year. School districts would get an overall increase in foundation aid — the largest form of state assistance — of $507 million, a 2.1% increase over last year's total.
The state's Medicaid expenses are set to by $3 billion to $30.4 billion, a 10.9% increase.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA Today Network. Reach him at cmckenna@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NYS Budget: Why Hochul proposing $2.4B for migrant services, shelter
