Happy National Library Week, NYLA members!  We are now three-and-a-half months into the 2024 Legislative session and while Spring has arrived in New York, the state budget has not.

Nine days and three budget extensions have passed since New York’s April 1st deadline for delivery of an on-time budget. Delayed by continuing conversations around major points of contention including housing, education, and healthcare, consensus on the contours of a final budget agreement appears to be on the horizon. Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins stated that “we are at the beginning of the end of negotiations,” with at least one additional budget extension, due tomorrow, expected.

NYLA is working hard to secure the most favorable possible position for libraries in the FY 2025 budget. Since the updates delivered in the February edition of this column, we’ve continued to meet with partners government, engaged grassroots support for library funding, and ensured our community’s presence at the Capitol is known. Likewise, advocates across the state have maintained pressure on their elected officials to prioritize library funding.

So far, our efforts have borne fruit in the form of favorable one-house budget proposals from the Senate and Assembly, released on March 11th and March 12th, respectively.

The Senate has proposed increasing State Aid for Libraries to $104.6M, $2.5M greater than the $102.1M proposed in Governor Hochul’s Executive Budget and the amount statutory under State Education Law. They also have proposed increasing State Aid for Library Construction to $54M, increasing Library Materials Aid to $11.00/pupil while tying future increases to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and allocating $3M for NOVELny.

As for the Assembly, their proposal would also increase State Aid for Libraries to $104.6M while increasing State Aid for Library Construction to $68M, just $1.4M short of NYLA’s full request. The Assembly would also increase Library Materials Aid to $11.00/pupil, though without tying it to CPI, and allocate $3M to NOVELny.

More recently, on Monday members of the New York State Senate recognized National Library Week on the Senate floor. Led by Senate Libraries Committee Chair Sen. Iwen Chu, who introduced the resolution, five members of the Senate rose to speak on the importance of libraries and emphasize the need to prioritize library spending in the final budget. Others who spoke include Ranking Member of the Senate Libraries Committee Sen. Dean Murray as well as Sen. Pamela Helming, Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, and Sen. Rob Rolison. Video of the floor remarks can be viewed here.

Nevertheless, the increases proposed in the legislature’s one-house bills are not guaranteed. Instead, they will be considered alongside the levels specified in the Executive Budget and act as guideposts for final negotiation.

Now that we are in the final days of budget negotiations, we must continue advocating to Governor Hochul and members of the legislature to fully fund libraries in the FY 2025 budget. Without your voices, it’s eminently likely that gains like the first increase to Library Materials Aid since 2007 will fall off the table and out of the budget.

Please take time to send a message to state leaders via NYLA’s ongoing take-action campaign, and call their offices to let them know that increased state funding for libraries isn’t optional, it’s essential.

For your convenience, I have included at the bottom of this column an overview of the Executive Budget, Senate One House, Assembly One House, and NYLA’s FY 2024 budget requests.

If you have any questions about advocacy or would like to get more involved, please don’t hesitate to contact me at [email protected] and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you to all NYLA members for your ongoing work to promote library interests and push for a successful legislative session!

Executive Budget

The Executive Budget was released by Governor Kathy Hochul on January 16, 2024. It includes:

• Library Aid $102.1M
  • +$2.5M increase from FY2024 Enacted Budget
• Library Construction $34M
  • Flat to FY2024 Enacted Budget
• Library Materials Aid: $6.25/pupil
  • Flat to FY2024 Enacted Budget
• NOVELny: $3M
  • New allocation for FY2025
    
    

Senate One House Budget

The Senate released their budget proposal on March 11, 2024. It includes:

• Library Aid: $104.6M
  • +$2.5M increase from Executive
• Library Construction: $54M
  • +$20M increase from Executive
• Library Materials Aid:
  • Increase LMA factor to $11.00/pupil in State Ed. Law and tie future increases to the Consumer Price Index
• NOVELny: $3M
   

Assembly One House Budget

The Assembly released their budget proposal on March 12, 2024. It included:

• Library Aid: $104.6M
  • +$2.5M increase from Executive
• Library Construction: $68M
  • +$34M increase from Executive
• Library Materials Aid:
  • Increase LMA factor to $11/pupil in State Ed. Law
• NOVELny: $3M
  
  

NYLA FY2025 Budget Requests

• Library Aid:                          $147.1M
• Library Construction:         $69.4M
• Library Materials Aid:         $11.00/Pupil (w/ CPI adjustment in Senate One House)
• NOVELny:                            $3M