Senator Patrick M. Gallivan, (R-C, Elma) and members of the Senate Minority Conference Wednesday unveiled “An Affordable New York,” a comprehensive report including legislative recommendations to ease the high cost of living for New Yorkers. The report is the result of a series of roundtable discussions held by the Senate Minority Conference throughout New York that focused on the key areas driving New York’s affordability crisis.  

During the roundtables, the Senators heard from stakeholders and community organizations about a variety of issues including taxes and regulations, energy costs, childcare, housing, insurance, and the cost of food and groceries. Participants emphasized that while each of these components present affordability challenges on their own, together they form an unsustainable climate that makes the cost of living increasingly unaffordable for New Yorkers.  

“Residents across New York have made it clear that affordability is one of their greatest concerns,” said Senator Gallivan. “The high cost of basic necessities such as food, utilities, childcare, health care, and insurance must be addressed this legislative session. These proposals, if adopted, will help ease the financial burden New York families and businesses face.” 

The report makes a series of recommendations to help ease the burden on New Yorkers in several areas that were identified as major drivers of the high cost of living and doing business. The report identifies legislative proposals to address the various issues, including: 

Reduce Taxes 

A bill to eliminate state personal income tax on the first $50,000 for single filers and $100,000 for married filing jointly. Lower the tax rate to 4% for single filers up to $250,000 and $500,000 for married filing jointly and 5% for single filers of more than $250,000 and more than $500,000 for married filing jointly that are below the millionaire tax threshold. This would provide a personal income tax cut for all New Yorkers, providing $30 billion in tax relief over its 10-year implementation without having to cut funding from vital state programs.  

S. 587, co-sponsored by Senator Gallivan, would exempt tips from state income tax.

S.3914, co-sponsored by Senator Gallivan, would exempt overtime wages from state income tax.  

S.8489 Freeze real property taxes for three years.

Reduce Regulations and Government Spending 

S.930, sponsored by Senator Gallivan, would create a task force to review the State Administrative Procedure Act, making the regulatory process more business-friendly by ensuring state rules are consistent, efficient, and not overly burdensome.

S.2371 would reduce bureaucratic red tape by requiring that when a rule is adopted that imposes a new administrative burden on a business, one or more existing rules must be amended or repealed to offset the cost.

S.6724 Establish the New York State Commission on Regulatory Efficiency to examine state regulations and identify unnecessary and wasteful state regulations. New York has over 300,000 regulations, the second most of any state only behind California. 

S.8661 Require the Governor to hire an independent private professional service firm to audit state agencies and public authorities for any payments, claims or expenditures that appear improper, fraudulent, or abusive. Such wrongdoing would be referred to the appropriate law enforcement agency. 

Lower Costs of Basic, Everyday Necessities 

S.8461 Return unused funds held by the State from the New York State Climate Investment Account to ratepayers, providing nearly one billion dollars in relief to ratepayers at a time when utility bills are skyrocketing.

S.8463 Provide a one-year utility bill tax and surcharge holiday and two-year green energy tax holiday. Government taxes and fees account for between 25 to 50% of a customer’s utility bill. 

S.7075 Repeal the system benefit charge.  The system benefit charge is a fee imposed on all ratepayers that provides money to NYSERDA and the PSC. Repealing such fees would lower utility bills.

S.850, co-sponsored by Senator Gallivan, establishes the First-time Homebuyer Tax Credit Act.

S.1167, co-sponsored by Senator Gallivan, would repeal All-Electric Building Act, which adds approximately $20,000 to $25,000 to the construction cost of a single-family home.

S.8621 Allow developers to comply with the less costly and less burdensome 2020 Energy Codes in lieu of the 2025 Energy Code, a $7,400 savings per single family home. 

Ensure the Child Care Assistance Program is fully funded in the 2026-27 State Budget, so all eligible families receive proper help with childcare expenses. 

S.4487, co-sponsored by Senator Gallivan, Supplement the State’s existing child tax credit by providing a $1,000 “baby bonus” refundable tax credit for all parents of newborns.

S.9049 to allow the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) to grant temporary staff to child ratio flexibility during documented staffing shortages (similar to ones granted during COVID) and clarify regulations to permit directors to serve as classroom staff during shortages without penalties. Currently, directors stepping into classrooms to maintain ratios are cited. Citations have led to insurance cancellations, threatening center viability. 

S.8619 Require a fiscal note to be included on legislation that imposes a new insurance mandate and under the Medicaid fee-for-service program so the public knows how much premiums will increase due to the mandate.

The Senate Minority Conference will continue to roll out key initiatives under their Save New York agenda through the coming weeks.  

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