Voice of Business Blog

On Tuesday, March 11, the New York State Senate and Assembly each released their One-House Budget resolutions, showcasing their proposed FY2026 New York State budgets and opening negotiations between the branches of government. As the Voice of Business for the Finger Lakes Region, it is Greater Rochester Chamber’s role to interpret these budgets for our members and ensure that our business community is aware of and involved in negotiations surrounding key topics that will impact our region and their ability to conduct business here.

Since the beginning of our 2025 Legislative Session and Governor Hochul’s FY2026 executive budget proposal in January, Greater Rochester Chamber has been working closely with our public and private partners to ensure that our Upstate voice is well represented in these conversations. Our key priorities this year were outlined in our 2025 Advocacy Agenda. In the months since, we have continued to evaluate proposals and legislation to identify opportunities to make Greater Rochester a better place to live, work, and conduct business.

Both the Senate and Assembly one-house budgets modified Governor Hochul’s executive budget proposal in key areas including discovery reform, involuntary commitment, environmental regulation, and rebate checks. To learn more about key differences outside of our region and business priorities, please see City & State’s breakdown.

This brief is not intended to be comprehensive but rather an overview for business leaders of the issues most impactful for our region. To learn more or discuss an issue not covered, please contact Director of Advocacy, Intergovernmental Relations, and Public Policy Joe Leathersich at Joe.Leathersich@GreaterRochesterChamber.com. We will continue to update this document and the budget’s reflection of our policy priorities as new information becomes available. To make sure you get the most up to date updates, make sure you’re signed up for Greater Rochester Chamber’s weekly Policy Updates newsletter – opt-in here.

Unemployment Insurance Debt

• The Assembly budget includes $7 billion to pay down the State's federal unemployment insurance debt, which will reduce the cost for employers pay into this system.
• The Senate advances language to establish an Unemployment Insurance tax credit for businesses with fifty or fewer employees for their additional per employee costs due to the unpaid Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund debt in the form of a tax credit equal to $215 per employee.

Economic Development

• The Senate accepted the executive budget proposal to invest $100 million in the FAST NY program to develop shovel-ready sites and ensure that New York State remains competitive in business attraction, while the Assembly proposed restoring FAST NY funding to $200 million, as requested by Greater Rochester Chamber.
• Both chambers accepted the executive budget proposal to invest $300 million over three years to launch the POWER UP Fund to fund the proactive development of new power-ready sites.

Workforce Development & Education

• Both budget proposals accepted the executive budget proposal’s $90 million investment to expand the Empire AI coalition and include the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology.
• The Senate budget proposal includes $10 million for the Workforce Transit Equity Fund, double what Senator Cooney originally proposed.
• Both the Senate and Assembly included the Work Opportunity Tax Credit as written, incentivizing employers to hire individuals from historically marginalized groups.
• The Senate’s proposal modifies the governor’s proposed $3 million for the Benefits Cliff demonstration project to take place in Monroe County by providing an additional $500,000 to conduct a statewide study on the Benefits Cliff.
• The Assembly accepted the executive budget proposal to fund Bundy Aid at $16.332 million, while the Senate proposed restoring to the full $35.33 million as requested by the eligible private, nonprofit, higher education institutes it supports.

Healthcare & Child Care

• Both houses proposed higher Medicaid increases than the executive budget proposal’s $385 million all-funds increase. The Assembly proposed a total Medicaid all-funds increase of $481.25 million, while the Senate proposed a $785 million Medicaid all-funds increase - still $815 million short of the request from our health systems.
• The Senate and Assembly both accepted the executive budget proposal to invest $110 million into the creation of a Child Care Construction fund to be disbursed as capital grants for child care centers, counties, and municipalities to expand availability.
• In the executive budget proposal, Governor Kathy Hochul proposed to launch a Child Care Worker Substitute Pool, which both houses modified this proposal to require a non-profit administrator of the pool.

Housing

• Both the Senate and Assembly budgets accept the executive budget’s $100 million infrastructure fund designated for certified Pro-Housing Communities, which have demonstrated a commitment to expanding housing stock.
• Both houses accept the executive budget’s $100 million capital funding proposal to incentivize the construction of starter and modular homes and to support first-time homebuyers with down payments.

To learn more and see a more in-depth comparison of Greater Rochester Chamber’s advocacy priorities with the executive and one-house budget proposals, please click here to download a PDF.