Union advocates have argued that employees of the New York State Legislature are covered by the Taylor Law, the 1967 state law that requires state and local public employers, including state agencies, municipalities, and school districts, to recogniz Read More
New York’s property tax rates are generally among the highest in the nation. Specific property tax burdens vary widely throughout the state. Read More
To help New Yorkers compare certain basic fiscal measures for local governments, the Empire Center has calculated effective property tax rates and per-capita values for the spending, debt and tax levels throughout the state. Read More
Overtime payouts to New York City government employees rose by more than one-third last year. The City paid out a total of $2.44 billion dollars in overtime in Fiscal Year 2022, a 36 percent increase from the prior year’s total of $1.8 billion. Read More
A large share of the state’s Medicaid budget is flowing to personal care, or non-medical services provided to the elderly and disabled at home. Read More
A new law requires New York State’s school bus fleet be entirely zero-emission by 2035. But it's unlikely the state can meet that deadline. Read More
Local government is a labor-intensive business, and employee compensation is the single biggest element of most municipal budgets. Read More
The best of all possible energy worlds would be one in which energy is non-polluting, reliable and inexpensive. Unfortunately, nobody knows how to achieve all three goals simultaneously. Some advocates of renewable energy would have you believe th Read More
The tragic impact of the coronavirus pandemic in New York’s nursing homes has revived debate about how the industry operates. Read More
Voters will cast ballots on proposed budgets for school districts across New York State. The spending plans would collectively raise New York State’s highest in the nation per-pupil expenditure by 4.3 percent, and per-pupil school tax levies by 3. Read More
The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act) dramatically increases the state’s risk of a severe blackout event by 2040. Read More
New York State residents pay some of the highest local taxes in the nation. Read More