New York State Bans Plastic Bags in $175 Billion ‘Progressive’ Budget

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo called the $175.5 billion budget “the strongest progressive statement that we’ve made.”

Amid a representative debate on the proposed fiscal strategy, Cuomo told reporters that “big problems [call] for big solutions.” The governor’s self-styled big solution is certainly that.

The budget was formally announced on Sunday. First, it will ban most single-use plastic bags by March 1, 2020. However, counties will be given the option of charging a five cent fee for paper bags — two cents for the local government, and three cents to the state’s Environmental Protection Fund.

“The convenience of plastic bags is simply not worth the environmental impact,” said Democrat representative Carl Heastie. “By reducing our state’s usage, we will see less litter in our communities and less plastic pollution in our waterways.”

The budget will further necessitate the closure of three state prisons, but eliminate cash bail for misdemeanor and non-violent felony arrests. It will offer public schools an additional $1 billion in funding, and give homeowners a two percent cap on their property taxes.

Recreational marijuana legalization was on the table, but Cuomo and his fellow lawmakers decided that issue was too complicated to shove into the back of the state budget. Instead, they will revisit pot legalization during the final three months of the legislative session.

Under the new budget, Manhattan motorists will pay an unprecedented sum of “congestion” taxes through its toll system. These tolls will help fund the maintenance of New York’s public transit systems. Cuomo defended the decision, asserting that without the change, bus and subway fees would have had to rise by about 30%. “That was the choice,” he said. “You need a viable mass transit system.”

Other items include a “mansion tax” for houses worth more than $25 million, an internet sales tax for online retailers, and a move toward criminal justice reform that will accelerate the judicial system’s functions by requiring that both prosecution and defense lawyers share all case information sooner.

New legislation will also mandate three hours of paid time off to vote on election days, and expand local voting hours to begin at 6 a.m., rather than noon.