The Empire Center’s unique online “Explore Your State Budget” app has been updated to reflect financial data in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed 2016-17 Executive Budget.
The database of New York state budget information, which is accessible through the Center’s SeeThroughNY website, includes actual results, estimates and projections for major spending and tax categories from 2012 until fiscal 2020. In addition, the tool contains annual disbursements dating back to 1984 and tax receipts since 1976.
“We compiled all the governor’s financial plan numbers into a unique tool for understanding New York’s state budget,” said E.J. McMahon, the Empire Center’s president. “Using our app, New Yorkers can get both a short-term and long-term view of how their money is being raised and spent.”
Historical spending and tax data are presented both in nominal and inflation-adjusted terms. In addition, data can be downloaded and saved in spreadsheet form. Here is a small sampling of important Executive Budget trends revealed by the Explore Your State Budget database:
- The number of state Medicaid recipients is expected to reach 6.3 million people in fiscal 2017.
- State school aid would increase 4 percent next year and by a total of 20 percent over the next four years.
- The state’s employee health insurance costs are expected to rise next year by $229 million, or nearly 7 percent.
The direct web address for Explore Your State Budget is SeeThroughNY.net/nysbudget.
Learn more about the Empire Center and its efforts to make New York a better place to live and work by visiting EmpireCenter.org.
You may also like
132 NYSLRS Retirees Receive Pensions Over $200K in FY2026
A total of 132 retirees from the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) were eligible to collect $200,000 or more in pensions during the 2026 fiscal year, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website.
Among the 132 Read More
Port Authority Payroll Passes $1.2B as 20 Employees Collect $400k+
Twenty Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) employees collected more than $400,000 each in total pay last year, while average pay agencywide rose three percent, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website.
The Por Read More
NYC Employee Pension Payments Rise To $6.2 billion
The pension plan covering most New York city government agencies, including the City’s subway system, had 62 members with pension payments of at least $200,000 last year, according to , the Empire Center’s transparency website.
According to the d Read More
Fourteen NYC Educators Receive Over Half a Million Dollars in Pensions
Fourteen retired New York City educators received more than $500,000 in pension benefits in 2025, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website.
The data was obtained from the New York City Teachers’ Retirement Read More
34 MTA Workers Made $200K+ In Overtime In 2025
Thirty-four employees of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) received more than $200,000 in overtime payments in 2025, as total annual pay surpassed half a million dollars for some, according to , the Empire Center’s governm Read More
Over Five Years Later, Arbeeny Family Support Still Critical to Promoting Government Transparency
Albany, NY — The Arbeeny family and the Empire Center are marking five years of partnership in remembrance of Norman Arbeeny, who passed away six years ago today after contracting COVID-19 in a Brooklyn nursing home.
To honor Nor Read More
Empire Center Breaks Down Albany’s Pork Barrel Spending
Albany legislators steered over $83 million in grants to 293 local projects between April and December 2025 , according to under a Freedom of Information Law request.
The governor and state legislators hand-picked the grantees for mor Read More
SeeThroughNY updated with latest union contracts
New York’s of state and local government union contracts has been updated with the latest collective bargaining agreements for local teachers, police, firefighters, libraries, and public authorities.
Among the on SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center Read More