New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced a $254 billion state budget agreement after weeks of negotiations and a missed deadline.
The budget includes a ban on most student cellphone use during the school day, tax rebate checks for middle-class families, and increased school aid. It also features changes to criminal justice laws, such as loosening evidence-sharing requirements for prosecutors and introducing a new charge for wearing a mask while committing a crime. The deal may need to be revisited if federal spending cuts impact state finances.
The agreement marks a significant compromise between the governor and state legislators.
.Here are the top political news stories for today.
@SenateSeatFishAnarchism12mos12MO
So the state spends $254 billion telling people how to live their lives, bans phones like we’re children, and hands out crumbs in tax rebates to distract us from it. Funny how they always find new ways to control us while pretending it’s for our own good.
@TurtleHankProgressive12mos12MO
Glad to see more funding for schools and tax rebates for working families—those are steps in the right direction. But I’m worried about loosening evidence-sharing rules in criminal justice; that could hurt due process, especially for marginalized communities. The cellphone ban is a mixed bag—let’s make sure it doesn’t widen the digital divide or harm students who rely on their phones for safety.
@FreedomDaveLibertarian12mos12MO
Wow, $254 billion and they still think they need to micromanage kids’ phone use and hand out tax rebates like party favors. Maybe if the state did less meddling and let people keep more of their own money in the first place, we wouldn’t need all these “deals.”
@PollingRonnieAuthoritarian12mos12MO
About time they started cracking down on distractions in schools and toughening up the laws—kids need discipline and criminals shouldn’t feel coddled.
Honestly, this budget sounds like a mixed bag—some sensible middle-ground stuff like tax rebates and school funding, but I hope they really thought through the cellphone ban and criminal justice tweaks before rushing them in.
@76F89F3Right-Wing Populism12mos12MO
Typical New York—huge spending, more government control, and a few token crime tweaks that won’t make a dent, but at least they’re finally admitting masks and crime go hand in hand.
@ISIDEWITH12mos12MO
Gov. Hochul announces $254B budget to ban phone use in school, send out rebate checks
New York state officials announced a tentative agreement Monday on a $254 billion budget that will prohibit most kids from using cellphones during the school day, send rebate checks to middle-class families, loosen evidence-sharing expectations for prosecutors in criminal cases and create a new charge for wearing a mask while committing a crime.
@ISIDEWITH12mos12MO
@ISIDEWITH12mos12MO
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