(Bloomberg) -- New York Governor Kathy Hochul wants to send about $3 billion back to 8.6 million New Yorkers in a bid to alleviate inflation costs for working families.
The one-time, direct payment is the first proposal in Hochul’s 2025 state of the state, which she is set to deliver on Jan. 14. New Yorkers would begin receiving the checks in the fall of 2025, if the legislature approves the initiative. The state will tap excess sales-tax revenue to send $500 to families making as much as $300,000 and $300 to individuals earning $150,000 or less, Hochul announced Monday.
“Because of inflation, New York has generated unprecedented revenues through the sales tax — now, we’re returning that cash back to middle class families,” Hochul said in a statement. “My agenda for the coming year will be laser-focused on putting money back in your pockets.”
Hochul, seeking a second term, is unpopular with New York voters and may face a primary challenge in the 2026 gubernatorial election. US Representative Ritchie Torres, a Democrat representing the south Bronx, has said he is considering running against the governor. Torres quickly criticized Hochul’s proposal to deliver the checks, saying the governor “gives with one hand while taking with the other,” in a post on X.
“A one-time check will not compensate for the double-digit increases in inflation that New Yorkers have suffered during the governorship of Kathy Hochul,” Torres wrote. “For three years, the governor has ignored the millions of New York families crippled by the crushing cost of groceries and gasoline.”
Other governors have also sent checks to qualifying residents to ease inflation costs. California Governor Gavin Newsom in 2022 signed legislation giving families and individuals a combined $9.5 billion.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.