Ortt and Senate Republicans in Albany present their plan to make state more affordable

Provided photo: State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt speaks at the podium while joined by members of the NYS Senate Republican Conference.

Press Release, Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt

ALBANY – In response to a fiscally irresponsible state budget proposal that continues uncontrolled state spending, State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt and members of the Republican Conference on Monday unveiled their vision to provide relief and create “A More Affordable New York.”

This is one of several impactful initiatives being proposed as part of the conference’s Rescue New York Agenda. While Governor Hochul and her Democratic allies in the Legislature continue ignoring everyday New Yorkers with the same old tax-and-spend routine, the Senate Republican Conference is putting forward real solutions to help the middle class and build a stronger economy statewide.

“We have actionable, achievable solutions to make our state affordable again,” Ortt said. “The policies coming from the Hochul Administration and her allies on the left aren’t just wrong, they are irresponsibly out of touch with reality and they’re driving people out of the state. While hundreds of thousands of middle class families are struggling to afford everyday necessities, the Democrats led by Kathy Hochul are prioritizing $300 million for individuals who are here illegally. While seniors on fixed incomes worry about their heating bills, they’re moving to ban fossil fuel hook-ups to new and existing buildings and drive costs up even further.”

The Republican Conference specifically called out several Executive Budget proposals that would exacerbate New York State’s lack of affordability, including:

• Eliminating enhanced Medicaid payments to local governments, which would create enormous pressure to increase local property taxes;
• Increasing unemployment insurance taxes on already struggling small businesses and farms;
• Further increasing payroll taxes in the MTA region; and
• Siphoning hundreds of millions of dollars in state money into New York City to pay for the settlement of illegal immigrants.

In contrast, the Senate Republicans’ “A More Affordable New York” initiative will put money back into the pockets of taxpayers and make our state affordable once again as families continue to struggle with rising costs due to record high inflation, including:

• Eliminating costly unfunded mandates that drive up local property taxes;
• Protecting businesses from unemployment insurance tax hikes by creating an Unemployment Insurance Solvency Reserve Fund and repealing the interest assessment surcharge, which is the assessment on businesses to pay back the UI Trust Fund’s deficit;
• Repealing Congestion Pricing; and
• Providing relief from heating costs geared toward the middle class.