Report from Albany: An Update with NYS Senator Shelley Mayer
Originally published in
Patch
on
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NY State Senator Shelley Mayer kicked off the Larchmont-Mamaroneck Local Summit’s 2025-26 program on September 9th. She shared the legislature’s key recent accomplishments, then turned her attention to the likely impact the recent federal legislation signed on July 4, 2025 and referred to as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” will have on NYS and on our community.
Key 2025 Legislative Achievements
As the longstanding chair of the Senate Education Committee, one of the Senator’s top priorities continues to be fighting for adequate funding for public schools. Westchester County schools recently saw increases in State Aid due to updates to the Foundation Aid formula. These updates incorporate more current data and better reflect the actual costs of educating students in the County. Additional education wins included the statewide “bell to bell” ban of cell phones in public schools and universal free breakfast and lunch for all students, both of which Mayer noted have the added benefit of “encouraging social interaction.” Funding to BOCES was also increased as was capital funding to SUNY and CUNY schools.
In the area of healthcare, the State increased Medicaid reimbursement rates for hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities. In the area of reproductive and maternal healthcare, funding for abortion training for physicians was increased, and the telemedicine shield law, which the Senator sponsored, was strengthened.
Small businesses were assisted by the State paying back its $8 billion federal unemployment insurance debt, relieving them of related extra charges, and by a reduction of the MTA payroll tax for smaller businesses.
Other key initiatives included increasing childcare subsidies by $440 million, adding money for road repairs, and providing a $1 billion Sustainable Futures Fund to be used for environmental projects such as Clean Green Schools.
On the local front, together with NYS Legislator Steve Otis, the Senator has worked to address flooding issues by having Albany invest more in the Army Corps project, and by helping Larchmont and Mamaroneck obtain additional grant money to address flooding. Mayer has also secured numerous local grants for schools, libraries, and social service providers and is leading the fight against the highly contested Con Edison rate increases.
Impact of Federal Policy Changes
Mayer expressed deep concern over the recently enacted federal legislation. Of greatest concern:
- Cuts to Medicaid and the related Essential Plan. In the 37th State Senate district alone, there are 30,000 Medicaid recipients, 10,000 of them children. Statewide, an estimated 730,000 New Yorkers could lose their Essential Plan health care coverage beginning in 2026. (The Essential Plan, funded through the Affordable Care Act, provides affordable care health care coverage for low-income residents, including lawfully present immigrants who are not eligible for Medicaid.) The State faces a loss of $7.5 billion in funding plus $2.7 billion new costs.
- SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) reductions. Mayer explained that substantial changes in eligibility, stricter eligibility checks, and a shift of costs to the states will hurt families and local businesses while driving up costs for the State.
Additional threats include a phasing out of FEMA, which is particularly troubling for our flood-prone community; new restrictions on Planned Parenthood which will cut off access to basic reproductive healthcare for many women; the elimination of tax incentives for alternative energy sources; and the move to dismantle the Department of Education, which the Senator believes is a particularly disturbing sign.
Looking Ahead
According to Senator Mayer, the financial outlook is unclear. Although the State has some reserves, the State clearly cannot afford to “backfill” all the cuts resulting from the new federal legislation. She anticipates a tough year ahead as hard fiscal decisions will have to be made.
Of great concern to the Senator are immigration enforcement issues. She emphasized the need “to ensure that our neighbors, particularly Latino neighbors, feel secure in our communities, where they have lived and worked for a long time.” She is a co-sponsor of the “New York for All Act” designed to strengthen protections for our immigrant communities.
The Senator closed by reaffirming her commitment to the 37th State Senate District and to the democratic process, saying that it is “truly an honor to have this job.” She encouraged constituents to continue pressing State leadership on issues of concern, and she urged civility in political dialogue, reminding the audience that “we do not have to agree on everything, we can hold strong views and disagree” and still work together.
The Larchmont-Mamaroneck Local Summit is an informal community council that seeks to make a better life for the community by keeping it informed of major issues of concern. Our next meeting, on October 14th at 8 am at the Nautilus Diner in Mamaroneck, will discuss “Trends in Modern Healthcare.” For more information: https.//www.localsummitlm.org/ . To view recorded programs on LMC Media: https.//lmcmedia.org/ .