2026-2027 State Budget

• Continued base funding for the hiring of additional full-time faculty at State-operated campuses and community colleges.
• $1.5 million for the State Weather Risk Communication Center at UAlbany to provide rapid, tailored, real-time weather information to help state agencies, emergency managers and other critical stakeholders, prepare for and respond to severe weather events. This is a partnership between UAlbany and the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.
• Last year’s Enacted Budget included $250,000 to establish a Center of Excellence in RNA Research and Therapeutics — a partnership between UAlbany’s RNA Institute and the University of Rochester’s Center for RNA Biology. Unfortunately, this funding was cut in the Executive Budget. We are seeking restored and additional funding for a total of $500,000.
• $904,000 for the NYSTAR Center for Advanced Technology in Nanomaterials and Nanoelectronics (CATN2) at UAlbany’s College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering — a reduction of $96,000 from last year’s Enacted Budget for which we are seeking restored and additional funding.
• $895,455 for the NYSTAR Center of Excellence (COE) in Nanoelectronics and Nanotechnology at UAlbany’s College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering — a reduction of $104,545 from last year’s Enacted Budget for which we are seeking restored and additional funding.
• $800,000 for the NYSTAR Center of Excellence (COE) in Weather and Climate Analytics at the University at Albany – a reduction of $200,000 from last year's Enacted Budget for which we are seeking restored and additional funding.
• $1.74 million for the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities at UAlbany (CARD Albany), which brings research and practice together in community settings — a reduction of $500,000 from last year’s Enacted Budget for which we are seeking restored funding.
• Level funding of $235,000 for Just for the Kids (NYKids) within the School of Education, the only New York-focused, evidenced-based school improvement program in the state that compares the performance of equally resourced and similarly challenged schools.
• Level funding of $261,600 for the Public Health Management Leaders of Tomorrow program (PHLOT), established in 2006, which strengthens the public health infrastructure across New York State.
• Elimination of $32,000 for Public Health Live!, a webcast series designed to provide continuing education opportunities on public health issues, along with funding for other public health programs.
• Level funding of $487,000 for Physician Workforce Studies which the Center for Health Workforce Studies, under contract with the New York State Department of Health, monitors the state's health workforce and identifies areas around the state with shortages of primary care, oral health and behavioral health providers.
• Level funding of $100,000 for the Center for Women in Government and Civil Society for the Immigrant Integration Index.
• Level funding of $218,400 for the evaluation of the Joseph P. Dwyer Veterans Peer Support Project, which provides veterans at risk of social isolation with a chance to engage with other veterans in low demand settings that do not carry the stigma of receiving traditional mental health service.

Each year, UAlbany requests additional operating and capital support from the New York State Legislature. Below are the requests created in consultation with the President's Executive Council.

Health Innovation & Technology Research Building — $250 Million

We are proposing to build a 150,000-square-foot Health Innovation & Technology Research (Health Tech) Building for cutting-edge academic and research programs at the intersection of artificial intelligence and social, health and environmental equity. The building will be adjacent to UAlbany’s College of Integrated Health Sciences and provide critically needed lab and research space for chemistry, biology, public health and our nation-leading AI Plus initiative. 

Inside, researchers and students in the natural, social and data sciences will explore the ways in which AI can further our understanding of the complexly interrelated challenges posed by health disparities, climate change and economic inequity. The Health Tech Building will be a model for interdisciplinary work as the home for some of our newest initiatives, including the Institute for Social and Health Equity and the Global Center for AI in Mental Health. 

Deeply informed by the lessons of COVID-19, the teaching and research it houses will focus on technological and scientific innovations and policy interventions aimed at reversing the persistent racial and economic outcome disparities exposed by the pandemic. There is significant opportunity for federal funding in these fields, and this work advances not just UAlbany’s mission as one of the most diverse public R1 universities in the nation but Gov. Hochul’s commitment to make SUNY a leader in both equity and scientific discovery.  

Additionally, a satellite energy plant, or Energy Hub, will be housed in the basement of the building. In heeding the Governor’s call to decarbonize New York, this will help move the state closer to its ambitious goals as it will improve system reliability and reduce an estimated 55,000 MMBtu of natural gas at the existing central plant, which amounts to a 16 percent reduction in on-site fossil fuel usage and associated carbon emissions.

New York State Mesonet — $2 Million

The New York State Mesonet is the state’s most advanced early-warning weather detection network, supporting daily operations for state and local agencies including New York State's Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES), Department of Transportation (DOT), Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Thruway Authority, as well as hundreds of local emergency managers. 

Despite the Mesonet's role as a statewide public safety asset, New York State provides no recurring operational support. For the past decade, UAlbany has provided the largest recurring subsidy to keep the Mesonet operational. This support comes from indirect cost recovery on federal research grants, a funding source that has been declining and is under threat of greater cuts in the future. 

Without stable funding, critical equipment failures could begin as early as next year, creating dangerous data blind spots that would undermine emergency response and heighten risks to life and property statewide. To ensure the Mesonet’s long-term sustainability, UAlbany is requesting $2 million in recurring state funding to support operations, equipment replacement, and system maintenance.

NYSTAR Center of Excellence in RNA Research and Therapeutics — restore last year’s funding of $250,000 and increase total funding to $500,000

New York State is home to two leaders in RNA research, UAlbany’s RNA Institute and the University of Rochester’s Center for RNA Biology: From Genome to Therapeutics. The newly established NYSTAR Center of Excellence in RNA Research and Therapeutics (CERRT) leverages this existing reservoir of knowledge, expertise and resources to spur economic development and train the next generation of high-tech workers with RNA science expertise.

CERRT is well-positioned to provide cutting-edge solutions to critical scientific problems that include developing therapeutics for devastating genetic diseases and emerging public health pathogens that threaten the well-being of New Yorkers. 

CERRT will also use RNA science as a workforce development platform to provide the trained workers needed to grow New York’s healthcare, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. The career opportunities for underrepresented minorities that this investment could create would help address systemic inequities and gender disparity in both academia and industry.

Strategic Partnership for Industrial Resurgence (SPIR) — $400,000

The State Budget currently funds the Strategic Partnership for Industrial Resurgence (SPIR) at approximately $1.74 million annually, allocated across the four SUNY University Centers. Currently, UAlbany receives approximately $52,000 in annual SPIR funding, compared to over $400,000 for each of the other three University Centers. This funding disparity persists despite comparable and, in several emerging technology areas, growing research capacity at UAlbany.

Increasing UAlbany’s allocation will provide parity across the SUNY University Centers and ensure equitable statewide program delivery in bringing UAlbany engineering faculty and students together with industry in support of statewide economic development priorities. UAlbany is therefore requesting an increase in SPIR funding to $400,000 to fully deploy its institutional capabilities in support of statewide economic development priorities.

The following items related to SUNY State-operated campuses were included in this year’s Executive budget:

Highlights (as provided by SUNY)

• $54 million in additional direct state tax support for State-operated campuses to maintain the tuition freeze for resident undergraduate students
• $8 million in additional funding for the (Advancing Success in Associate Pathways (ASAP) and Advancing Completion through Engagement (ACE) retention and completion program to a total of 10,000 SUNY students by Fall 2026
• $2.8 million in additional funding for the Empire State Service Corps, doubling the program to provide paid community service opportunities to 1,000 SUNY students
• Investing in additional paid, career-connected internships as SUNY works to meet its ambitious goal of an internship or other experiential learning opportunity for every undergraduate student
• Continued support for “TAP Gap” costs
• $2.5 million for the operating costs for SUNY’s participation in the Empire AI consortium
• $1 million in continued funding for the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium

SUNY Capital

The Executive Budget recommends $595 million in critical maintenance funding, an increase of $45 million over last year’s amount. 

Of the $595 million, $166 million is allocated for State-operated/statutory campuses (UAlbany’s share is $10.5 million, an increase of approximately $700,000 from last year’s amount) and $429 million in a lump sum for priority critical maintenance projects. 

While its allocation is yet to be determined, priority will be given to projects that address life and safety concerns, core infrastructure in need of replacement and upgrading buildings and infrastructure to meet current codes and regulations, such as ADA.

The capital budget also provides $100 million for the pay-as-you-go portion of the residence hall program, with an additional $75 million planned over the next four years, for a five-year total of $400 million (which is also supported by campus revenue).

• The Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) is funded at $827 million, a decrease of approximately $23 million from last year’s Enacted Budget.
• The Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) is funded at $42.5 million, a decrease of approximately $2.6 million from last year’s Enacted Budget.
• The Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP) is funded at $21 million, a decrease of approximately $1.1 million from last year’s Enacted Budget.
• The Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (C-STEP) is funded at $15.8 million, a decrease of approximately $1 million from last year’s Enacted Budget.
• The Liberty Partnership Program (LPP) is funded at $24.2 million, a decrease of approximately $1.5 million from last year’s Enacted Budget.

Highlights (as provided by SUNY)

The Executive proposes the following legislative changes:

• Certificate of Residency Reform: Provides for the promulgation of rules and regulations by SUNY to allow for a later submission of a certificate of residence, as well as associated late fees and reconciliation.
• Non-Resident Tuition Rates at State-operated campus Flexibility Extension: Extends this flexibility, which was in its final year currently, to 2028-2029.
• Expands the Masters-in-Education Teachers Incentive Scholarships: Includes public early childhood education as an allowable category and adds additional eligible work environments to avoid the scholarship becoming a loan (enacted statute included only public primary and secondary education previously).
• Makes permanent the Tuition Benefit program for New York Army, Air National Guard and Naval Militia: Removes the current sunset date of September 1, 2026, and makes this benefit permanent.
• Streamline Public Procurement: Makes various adjustments to standing procurement law, with the understanding they would also impact SUNY thresholds:
  • Increases the contract review level from $50,000 to $300,000 for Comptroller pre-approval, as well as increasing the Office of General Services (OGS) threshold from $85,000 to $300,000 for the same
  • Increases centralized contract threshold for pre-approval from $125,000 to $300,000
    • Removes pre-approval for Comptroller approval for purchases under centralized contracts
  • Increases discretionary buying thresholds, pursuant to guidelines established by the Procurement Council
    • OGS Services and commodities from $85,000 to $300,000 without a formal competitive process
    • State agencies may buy services and commodities up to $300,000 without a formal competitive process (also up from $85,000)
    • State agencies may buy commodities such as food from a New York State vendor without a formal competitive process up to $300,000, up from $200,000
      • Also increases the advertising limit from $50,000 to $300,000
  • Commissioner of OGS may enter into contracts on behalf of user agencies without prior approval up to $300,000, up from $85,000
  • Threshold for advertising procurements in the State's procurement opportunities newsletter is increased from $50,000 to $300,000
  •  Defines a “procurement contract” as having a value exceeding $300,000, up from $50,000, and changes the Comptroller review to that level
  • Extends the procurement threshold for an additional five years until 2031 and increases the threshold of a contract subject to such restrictions from $15,000 to $50,000.
• Adjusts the New York State Child Care Tax Credit: Allows for the accumulation of a “credit” under certain circumstances for expenses made for a qualified individual and such credit can reduce the cost of taxes, owed student load debt, etc. Overpayments of tax can be swept if outstanding student loan debts exist at State-operated campuses or New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC).
• Eliminate Income Taxes on Tipped Wages & Increase the amount of federal deduction to $25,000: For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, an amount of up to $25,000 to the extent allowed as a federal deduction pursuant to section 224 of the internal revenue code.
• Amendments to the Sensitive Location Protection Act: Adds definitions including that of “sensitive location” to include an institution of higher education. Also restricts access to sensitive locations for purposes of civil immigration enforcement without valid warrant issued by a federal court.

Regional Economic Development Councils: The Executive Budget includes $150 million for investment in innovation plans for regional job creation and community development.

Downtown Revitalization and NY Forward: The Executive Budget provides $200 million total for another round of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and another round of the NY Forward program, which have been transforming downtown neighborhoods into vibrant communities where the next generation of New Yorkers will want to live, work and raise families, as well as to invigorate downtowns of the State’s smaller and rural communities.

High Technology Programs: The Executive Budget maintains funding of $5 million for the Innovative Hot Spots. Additionally, total funding for the Centers of Excellence (COEs) and Centers for Advanced Technology (CATs) was reduced from $14 million to approximately $12 million, and $15 million to approximately $13.6 million, respectively.