Fiscal Policy
Gubernatorial Powers to Address Budget Gaps During the Fiscal Year
[PDF]A report from New York Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch in March 2010 proposed that the governor be granted broader power to address midyear budget gaps by implementing across-the-board spending cuts, in the absence of legislative action to deal with fiscal emergencies. This Institute report compares New York’s existing rules regarding midyear budget reductions to those in other states, and explores issues state policymakers may wish to address as they consider such expanded gubernatorial authority to preserve budgetary balance.
Robert B. Ward, June 17, 2010
Executive Authority: Enacting the Budget, Keeping It Balanced
Gov. David Paterson's unprecedented use of executive power demonstrated the power New York's chief executive can wield in adoption of the state budget. But keeping spending and revenues aligned through the year is another matter — and here, the governor's legal authority comes up short.
Robert B. Ward, June 2010
Stability and Volatility in New York’s Income Tax
As New York State legislators considered proposals to raise the income tax on high-income earners, Rockefeller Institute Senior Fellow Donald J. Boyd testified before the state Senate’s Select Committee on Budget and Tax Reform. Boyd noted that tax policies inevitably involve “trade-offs,” and said the bills would raise billions for spending that could benefit the economy, but could also fuel undesirable year-to-year revenue swings.
Donald J. Boyd, March 12, 2009
Study of the Real Property Tax in New York State
New York’s property tax is often criticized as burdensome and inequitable. A new Rockefeller Institute report for the Education Finance Research Consortium analyzes changes in the property tax from 1993-2006 to assess its impact across regions, property classes and ability to pay. Overall, the study found that however it is measured, the property tax burden rose during those 13 years. And the school property tax became more regressive, with effective tax rates in poorer districts rising relative to income.
December 2008
Transportation in the 21st Century: Where Is New York Going, and How Will We Pay?
[PDF]A Public Policy Forum featuring Elliot G. Sander, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and Astrid C. Glynn, Commissioner, New York State Department of Transportation. March 11,2008
Property Taxes in New York: Is There A Cost to Doing Nothing?
[PDF]A presentation to the Governor’s Commission on Property Tax Relief by Robert B. Ward, deputy director of the Rockefeller Institute and special adviser to the Commission. February 12, 2008
Every Dollar Counts: A Budget Reform Proposal for New York
[PDF]A Public Policy Forum with Thomas P. DiNapoli, New York State Comptroller. November 29, 2007
The Budget Outlook for 2008
[PDF]A Public Policy Forum with Paul Francis, Director, New York State Division of the Budget, and Senior Advisor to the Governor. October 18, 2007
What the New Governor Will Face: A Fiscal Outlook
[PDF]A Public Policy Forum with John F. Cape, Director, New York State Division of the Budget. November 1, 2006
Balancing Budget Powers in New York
[PDF]A distinguished group of experts debates whether the Court of Appeals decision on December 16, 2004, which called the governor the architect of the budget and the Legislature the critic, increased the budgeting power of the governor and further limited the role of the Legislature, and if so, how it will play out.
A Public Policy Forum with John M. Caher, Albany Bureau Chief, New York Law Journal; James McGuire, State Supreme Court Judge, Queens County; Abe Lackman, President, Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities; and Frank Mauro, Director of the Fiscal Policy Institute. March 23, 2005
Reforming the Budget Process: The Proposed Constitutional Amendment — Yea or Nay?
[PDF]Speakers — Michael Cooper, Albany Bureau Chief, The New York Times; Barbara Bartoletti, Legislative Director, League of Women Voters of New York State; David F. Shaffer, President, The Public Policy Institute of New York State and Corporate Secretary, The Business Council of New York State. July 2006
Journal of Governmental Finance and Public Policy
[PDF]The New York State Division of the Budget and the Rockefeller Institute published this journal on topics related to New York State financial, budgeting, economic, and public policy issues.
New York Taxes In Relation to Other States
[PDF]Large tax increases can have large economic effects, especially when not spread broadly. Spending can have economic benefits, too — but not necessarily at the same time (educating today’s fourth graders may yield economic benefits long after taxes to finance education are paid). And will there be mechanisms in place to ensure that benefits from the spending occur?
Donald J. Boyd, presented at the Citizens Budget Commission conference, "Can New York Get an 'A' in School Finance Reform?", Palisades, NY, December 3, 2004
