State budget deal earmarks $1.5B in property tax relief

Tougher bribery, anti-corruption laws will also be implemented if proposal passes

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo

A new state budget deal, reached Saturday between New York legislators and Governor Andrew Cuomo, introduces property tax relief for homeowners.

The $137.9 billion budget, which also slices business taxes and provides $300 million toward universal pre-kindergarten in New York City, came through late Friday and will go up for a final vote today, the last day of the state’s financial year. If passed, the deal will earmark $1.5 billion in property tax relief for Empire State homeowners.

“It has to be passed and we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but it was a good piece of work,” Governor Cuomo told Reuters via conference call Saturday.

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Tougher bribery and anti-corruption laws will also be implemented as part of the proposed budget initiatives, and around $162 million will go to New York’s Environmental Protection Fund — a $9 million uptick from the previous budget.

Included in the budget is a provision taking away Schneiderman’s control of $440 million owed in the housing settlement with JPMorgan Chase, the New York Daily News reported. [Reuters] and [NYDN]Julie Strickland