Research

Propane and gas furnaces may soon disappear from New Yorkers’ homes, even if they want to keep them. On December 19, the New York State Climate Action Council (Council) approved a 24-chapter, 445-page Scoping Plan to implement the state’s so-c Read More

New York’s part-time senators and assemblymembers are poised to give themselves a 29 percent pay increase that would make them, by far, the highest paid state Legislature. Read More

In the first federal income-tax year affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, New York State's share of the nation's highest-earning filers dropped sharply. Read More

Nearing the end of the COVID-19 era's second year, New York remained more than a quarter-million private jobs below its February 2020 peak level Read More

A staff shortage in upstate hospitals prompted , where hospital officials and state lawmakers asked that more funding to train medical professionals be included in January’s sta Read More

Overview New York has adopted a statutory goal that 100 percent of new passenger car and truck sales be zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs) by 2035. Ultimately, the only way to accomplish this goal will be to prohibit sales of Read More

Nassau County taxpayers face what could be a $109 million bill. When will they be allowed to see the details? Read More

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

The attorney general's just-filed lawsuit against the Villages of Orleans nursing home has implications that reach far beyond a single facility in western New York. In addition Read More

One lesson of the pandemic is that, as profligate as the Empire State is when it comes to spending money, it has yet to learn to do it well.  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