State Senator grades 2026 budget "a solid B"

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The 2026 state budget was signed over a month after it was originally due. Reactions to the budget varied, and came as many at the Capitol braced for the impacts of spending cuts at the federal level.

This week on Empire State Weekly, State Senator Pat Fahy, a Democrat representing the 46th District, gave her reaction to the steps taken with the budget to make the state more affordable. She explained that despite some positives, spending cuts at the federal level will have an impact on New York.

"The Governor, the Leader, the Speaker, have all made it clear it's impossible to backfill if we cut tens of billions in Medicaid. That's the scary one," Fahy said. "But I think that our economy is good even despite the upheaval of the tariffs that were announced last month. We're in a good position, but there's tremendous anxiety."

Also this week, the state budget made significant investments in higher education, but those investments came amid anxiety surrounding federal cuts. David Albert, the Chief Communications and Marketing Officer for the New York State School Boards Association, explained that while there is cause for some concern over the cuts, federal funding doesn't play a significant role in school funding in New York.

"For the most part, we're not eyeing significant cuts in federal funding for the 2025-2026 school year," Albert said. "Also keep in mind that on average, the federal government funds about 5% of a school district's budget. The rest is really state and local, so that's the majority."

To see these interviews and more, here is a list of how you can watch Empire State Weekly in your area of New York: