Latest news with #JamesSkoufis
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NY Dem pushes bill to keep Hochul's name, face off 'inflation refund' checks this fall
The inflation refund checks New Yorkers will get from Albany this fall were a form of relief Gov. Kathy Hochul had sought for months and has been eager to tout since striking a budget deal last month. But a new bill by a fellow Democrat would stop Hochul from milking those payments of up to $400 per household for political gain, in several obvious ways — It would bar New York from putting Hochul's name, signature or image on those checks. 'New Yorkers are facing an affordability crisis, and to use taxpayer-funded programs to capitalize on such a moment to shore up votes is wildly inappropriate,' state Sen. James Skoufis of Orange County said in a statement announcing the legislation. 'No Governor should have the opportunity for this kind of self-promotion." Skoufis dismissed Hochul's "inflation refund" checks as a political gimmick, much as Republicans had done since Hochul first pitched them in December as a centerpiece of her "affordability agenda." He and fellow Senate Democrats had suggested a narrower approach tailored to senior citizens only, but Hochul prevailed in the end — though with smaller check amounts than she wanted. In a statement responding to Skoufis' bill, Hochul spokesman Avi Small brushed off the intra-party jab and ticked off a string of priorities Hochul secured in the budget. They included the inflation refund checks, income-tax cuts, higher child tax credits and an expansion of free school lunches to include all students. "We understand it's easy for backbench legislators to get attention by attacking the Governor," Small said in a return swipe at Skoufis. "But we're not going to waste any time worrying about the daily stunts from this camera-chasing political fraudster." Skoufis introduced his bill on May 15, with just a few weeks left before state lawmakers are set to end this year's voting session on June 12. No Assembly version has been filed yet. Medicaid battles: Medicaid cuts would penalize NY for covering undocumented seniors with state funds The state plans to send checks to more than 8 million households over several weeks, starting in mid-October. Hochul called them an "inflation refund" because consumers paid more sales tax after prices shot up in 2022. Albany is simply returning some of the extra revenue it collected, she argues. The payments will vary by income level. Individuals earning up to $75,000 a year will get $200, and those with incomes of $75,000 to $150,000 will get $150. For married couples who file joint tax returns, the amounts will be $400 for those earning up to $150,000 and $300 for those with incomes of $150,000 to $300,000. Hochul had initially proposed giving out checks of $500 per couple and $300 per individual, a plan that would have cost the state $3 billion. With the reduced amounts, the total payout is $2 billion. In an interview with the USA TODAY Network in April, Hochul defended the checks as immediate aid people can use. She said the state was taking "unanticipated revenue" and putting a share "back in the pockets of hard-working families so they can cover a rent bill and do loan payments and fill the grocery basket." "If it can pay for a couple baskets of groceries," she said, "that's real relief for people that they can relate to, as opposed to talking about changes that aren't really tangible to people, and that's important to me." Re-election bid: Hochul is running for NY governor again in 2026. What are her biggest hurdles to winning? Hochul has been governor since 2021 and is set to run for a second full term next year, with potential rivals in both parties waiting in the wings. She has focused on ways to improve affordability and is sure to highlight these checks as part of her effort. The bill to keep her name off them came a week after an ugly clash on social media as the budget neared final approval. Skoufis issued a blistering statement that accused Hochul of having "run roughshod" over the legislature and blasted her inflation refunds as a "scam" that "will hardly register as a blip in people's bank accounts." "Embarassing, juvenile stunt from a camera-hungry clown," Small shot back in an X post. Skoufis answered with a shot at Hochul's lukewarm polling and an invitation for her to take a drive on the state roads in his Senate district. Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA Today Network. Reach him at cmckenna@ This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Bill to ban inflation refund checks with Hochul name pushed by Skoufis
New York Post
08-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
MTA will reap NYC business tax, speed camera fines under NY's $254B behemoth budget
They're full speed ahead – into New Yorkers' wallets. Final details on a big business-bashing payroll tax to fund the MTA's ambitious capital plan were revealed Thursday as lawmakers voted on the behemoth $254 billion state budget. The nitty-gritty budget bills also revealed a new way for the MTA to generate much needed cash: speed cameras targeting lead-footed bridge-and-tunnel drivers. Raising taxes to 'feed the bottomless pit at the MTA' undercut Gov. Kathy Hochul's argument that the much-delayed budget is an affordability win for New Yorkers, state Sen. James Skoufis (D-Orange) said. 'Meanwhile, if the Governor ever got out of her helicopter, she would know the basics of government — like repaving roads or addressing crippling property taxes — continue to be neglected under her leadership,' he said. 3 A Gov. Kathy Hochul-approved budget deal includes a tax hike on big businesses for the MTA. Lev Radin/ZUMA / The payroll mobility tax hike facing city companies with yearly payrolls of $10 or more will bump their rates from 0.6% to 0.895%. And big payroll businesses in Long Island, Westchester and other suburban counties served by the MTA will see their rates go from 0.34% to 0.635%. The hikes — which will help pay for the $68 billion plan to modernize the MTA's decaying trains, stations and infrastructure — follow the outlines revealed in a handshake deal between Hochul and state legislative leaders. Many, but not all, business leaders fumed over the tax hike expected to hit up to 10,000 New York companies. 'Things will be run tighter, possibly with fewer raises,' billionaire business mogul John Catsimatidis, who owns the Gristedes and D'Agostino's grocery chains, previously told The Post. 'Will there be fewer hires? Absolutely!' While the tax is being hiked on larger businesses, it's also being cut completely for employers with yearly payrolls that are less than $1.25 million. The budget bills didn't just give the MTA a tax windfall. 3 Speed cameras soon could be coming to the MTA's bridges and tunnels. KKF – 3 The Verrazzano Bridge is among nine bridges and tunnels where the MTA could set up cameras in work zones. AFP via Getty Images The MTA soon could install speed cameras in construction zones on its bridges and tunnels – including the Verrazzano Bridge – under a law tweak tucked into the budget. The tweak expands a pilot program that already put the speeder-trapping cameras in certain New York State Thruway and state highway work zones. The Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, Hugh L. Carey Tunnel, Queens-Midtown Tunnel and Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge are among the nine MTA-run bridges and tunnels that could see cameras. The fines will be $50 for a first violation and $75 for a second within an 18-month window, MTA officials said. Third and all subsequent speeding violations will be a $100 fine, the officials said. The cameras can only be set up after public hearing and vote by the MTA's board, according to the bill. Any MTA construction zone speed cameras will be separate from those working for the $9 construction pricing tolls for motorists entering Manhattan south of 60th Street. The first-in-the-nation toll program has been criticized as effectively a tax on everyday New Yorkers who need to drive into lower Manhattan. Additional reporting by Hannah Fierick
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Could Orange County residents get discounts to cross the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge?
To ease the pain caused by congestion pricing, Orange County residents would receive discounts to cross the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge and pass through the Harriman toll on the New York State Thruway under a plan introduced by a Lower Hudson Valley Democrat. The discounts would cost nearly $6 million and would come out of the $252 billion state budget currently being negotiated in Albany. Extending to Orange County residents the same Cuomo Bridge discount available to Westchester and Rockland residents is not a new idea. But the $2.9 million addition has failed to make it into prior budgets. This is the first time the Harriman toll discount, with an estimated cost of $3 million, has been floated. Both measures were introduced by state Sen. James Skoufis and managed to make it into the Senate budget being considered by Gov. Kathy Hochul. "Orange County residents don't have a viable or reliable train service: infrequent schedules, no one-seat ride into Manhattan, and enormous swaths of the county without a proximate station,' said Skoufis, a Democrat whose district includes portions of Rockland and Orange counties. 'As a result, most residents need to drive into Manhattan − they have neither a realistic nor convenient choice.' The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's $9 toll for drivers who enter Manhattan at 60th Street revived longstanding frustration with the limited public transportation options for commuters living west of the Hudson River in Rockland and Orange counties. In February, MTA chairman and CEO Janno Lieber acknowledged the problem when pressed by Assemblyman Chris Eachus, a Democrat whose district includes northern Rockland County and eastern Orange County. 'We acknowledge the fact that rail service on the west of Hudson stinks,' Lieber said during a transportation hearing in Albany. 'It is run by New Jersey Transit. The tracks are owned by the freight railroad. We have no ability to alter that for you, much as we would like to.' Westchester and Rockland residents with E-ZPass pay $5.40 to cross the Cuomo Bridge, $1.35 less than what others pay. About 235,000 residents are enrolled in the program. The Harriman toll costs E-ZPass users $1.25. The size of the proposed discount has not been determined but Skoufis said it would mirror the discount available to residents of Grand Island when they use the bridge of the same name in western New York. Grand Island residents pay 9 cents to cross the bridge while others pay $1. Discounts require the approval of the board of directors for the Thruway Authority, which depends on toll revenue to maintain 570 miles of highway from New York City to Buffalo. The agency does not receive federal, state or local funding. Discount: Westchester, Rockland drivers: Recertify for Cuomo Bridge discount or you'll lose it The Thruway already has a Harriman Commuter Plan for southbound commuters. Those with a minimum of 35 trips per month pay 58 cents, a $1.61 discount off the $2.19 Tolls by Mail rate at the Harriman gantry. If they're under 35 trips, they pay 58 cents for each trip not taken. Also on Skoufis' wish list is $200,000 for an expansion of the Chester Park & Ride, where commuters can link up with Coach USA buses into New York City. The lot, which is owned by the state, has space for 75 vehicles. And Skoufis wants to revive plans for the Secaucus Loop, a piece of the Gateway Project that would give residents of Orange and Rockland counties a one-seat ride into Manhattan by way of a new Hudson River tunnel to Penn Station. Tolls: NY Thruway targeting serial toll evaders after $70M loss. Inside the plan to force payment 'Many federal representatives, in particular, have spoken nonstop about the importance of this project yet have done little to nothing to advance this priority,' Skoufis said. 'The Senate budget proposal would inject some much-needed financing and attention into this long overdue project." Skoufis' proposal calls for $10 million to fund a portion of the preliminary design of the project. Republicans and Democrats in the two counties have long found common ground when it comes to commuting issues. Last year, Rockland County Executive Ed Day, a Republican, joined New Jersey in suing the MTA over congestion pricing, calling it an unfair tax on his constituency. In February, Skoufis and the entire Orange County delegation pushed to end the county's association with the MTA by exempting residents from paying taxes that support the transit agency. Lieber and Hochul have pushed back, citing statistics that show nearly 80% of Rockland and Orange commuters to Manhattan's business district take public transportation. In January, Hochul proposed several initiatives to improve public transportation west of the Hudson, including the expansion of ferry and parking options. The governor also wants to add shuttle bus connections between Metro-North's Port Jervis Line and Woodbury Commons, Legoland, Storm King, Renaissance Fair and Stewart Airport. Thomas C. Zambito covers energy, transportation and economic growth for the USA Today Network's New York State team. He's won dozens of state and national writing awards from the Associated Press, Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Deadline Club and others during a decades-long career that's included stops at the New York Daily News, The Star-Ledger of Newark and The Record of Hackensack. He can be reached at tzambito@ This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Orange County resident discount to cross Mario Cuomo Bridge proposed
