Reports

As was widely reported, New York’s unemployment rate has soared upward in recent months, with May's 14.5 percent nearly four times the 3.7 percent in February. But that rate is only one measure of the impact of lost jobs.

New York State has experienced difficult budgets many times over its history. Seldom if ever, however, has the State faced the level of economic and revenue challenges identified in this year’s Enacted Budget Financial Plan as a consequence of the COVID19 pandemic.

New York State is facing extraordinary challenges as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Its punishing impacts include shutting down much of the economy, throwing millions of Americans out of work, and devastating State finances.

The New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP), administered by the State Department of Civil Service (Civil Service), is one of the nation's largest public sector health insurance programs. NYSHIP covers over 1.2 million active and retired State, local government, and school district employees, and their dependents. The Empire Plan is the primary health benefits plan for NYSHIP, covering 1.1 million of the NYSHIP members.

Every year, certain issues emerge as particular challenges in the State Budget. Clearly, among the most difficult this year is the structural budgetary imbalance in the State’s Medicaid program.

New York’s Alexander Hamilton played a central role among our nation’s Founders, as the Broadway musical bearing his name reminds us. One of the questions Hamilton analyzed as he sought to build support for a stronger central government was the potential for “inequality among the States” in paying federal taxes. Well over two centuries later, that issue remains a national concern.

Data Visualization | Excel file with supporting data

The national economy has now been growing for more than a decade – a lengthy expansion, by historical standards. While we have no way of knowing exactly when that will change, we can be sure that at some point a downturn will come. When that happens, the State must be prepared to safeguard essential services and avoid undesirable tax increases.

This Report on Estimated Receipts and Disbursements for State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2019-20 through SFY 2021-22, issued pursuant to Section 23 of the State Finance Law, is intended to enhance analysis and discussion of the State’s economic condition and the State Budget.

The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the New York State and Local Retirement System (the System or NYSLRS) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019.

New York continues to benefit from a national economic expansion that has lasted for more than a decade, however, economic risks are growing. This report can help New Yorkers better understand the State’s financial and economic condition.

The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the State of New York for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019.

On any given day, millions of New Yorkers ride the subway or drive on public roads; public school buildings and facilities on college campuses open their doors to students across the State; essential services are provided at water plants, other environmental facilities and in homes for developmentally disabled individuals and psychiatric centers; individuals reside in publicly-supported housing; and citizens enjoy the outdoors at public parks.

New York State continues to benefit from a historically long national economic expansion, now extending a full decade. The Division of the Budget (DOB) projects healthy growth in tax receipts and federal aid for the current fiscal year.

This year’s State budget process was complicated by December and January tax revenues falling billions of dollars short of expectations. By the start of the new fiscal year on April 1, the picture was somewhat brighter as a result of stronger than anticipated revenues for the month of March and a higher than expected General Fund balance to begin the new year.

This report on the use of overtime by New York State agencies examines patterns over the past ten calendar years. The total cost of overtime in calendar year 2018 was almost $787 million, covering roughly 18.1 million overtime hours worked.

State tax revenues in December and January fell far short of earlier projections, making the process of adopting the new State budget more difficult than in the recent past.

This Report on Estimated Receipts and Disbursements for State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2018-19 through SFY 2020-21, issued pursuant to Section 23 of the State Finance Law, is intended to enhance analysis and discussion of the State’s economic condition and the State Budget.

In 2009 and 2010, President Obama and Congress enacted two major laws—the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and the Affordable Care Act—that provided significant new funding to help New York and other states provide essential services to the people.

Excel file with supporting data

The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the New York State and Local Retirement System (the System or NYSLRS) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018.

As of March 31, 2018, the State’s General Fund cash balance was $9.4 billion, the highest in recent history. But this cushion is expected to shrink: the State’s Financial Plan anticipates that more than $3.9 billion, or 42 percent of this figure, will be used in the 2018-19 fiscal year.