The State of New York continues to face serious challenges to its fiscal health. The State has continued on the unsustainable course of making recurring spending commitments that are not backed by recurring revenues, and it continues to rely heavily on debt.

New York continues to struggle with the fiscal challenges associated with the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. 

New York State has shown resilience in challenging times. While New Yorkers have been hit hard by the Great Recession, our past investments in infrastructure, facilities for culture, education and recreation, a well-educated workforce, innovative businesses, progressive human services organizations, and a world-leading financial sector provide a sound foundation for a return to prosperity.

In the past few years, New York State has made important progress toward achieving long-term budget balance. The State has enacted significant changes in its three largest expenditure categories — Medicaid, school aid and agency operations — and created a new cap on local property taxes, ushering in a new era of State and local fiscal policy.

As DEC now enters its second half-century, its mission is broader than ever before. Wide-ranging laws to address climate change and major initiatives to assure clean drinking water are just some of the new tasks DEC has been assigned in the last few years, adding to an already long list of environmental planning, regulatory and management programs — all of which are important to our quality of life and the State’s economy.

New York State has had a long history of structural budgetary imbalance and multibillion dollar out-year deficits. However, progress toward long-term budget balance has been made over the last three years.

New York State has made progress toward aligning revenues with expenditures in recent years by limiting spending growth and holding potential budget gaps to comparatively manageable levels. 

After closing deep projected budget gaps just a few years ago, New York State has continued to improve its short-term financial condition. The State's General Fund ended SFY 2014-15 with its highest closing fund balance in at least two decades, thanks in large part to an extraordinary inflow of one-time resources from financial settlements.

After closing deep projected budget gaps just a few years ago, New York State’s short-term financial condition has improved. The State’s General Fund ended SFY 2015-16 with an exceptionally large balance, which enhances budgetary flexibility in the near term and is expected to support increased capital investment and other purposes over multiple years.

New York State’s short-term financial condition has improved in recent years, but concerns are on the horizon. As the United States enters its ninth year of economic expansion, New York faces increasing fiscal challenges. The State’s latest financial projections contain projected budget gaps in the next three fiscal years that average more than $5.9 billion annually before potential gap-closing actions.