This week, the state Senate released its one house budget resolution, a key step as lawmakers and Governor Kathy Hochul negotiate the final state’s 2024-25 budget.

The Senate’s budget resolution included an endorsement of the Local Journalism Sustainability (S.625C) Act, a major milestone for the industry-saving bill as the Empire State Local News Coalition, a statewide advocacy group of more than 150 local news outlets, ramps up pressure to urge for its final passage.

Sponsored by Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblymember Carrie Woerner, the Local Journalism Sustainability Act is a bipartisan bill that provides tax credits to local news outlets for the employment of local news journalists. The legislation is co-sponsored by state Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay.

News organizations would receive a 50% tax credit against the first $50,000 of each newsroom employee’s salary, up to $200,000 per outlet. This benefit would be limited to print and online newspapers and broadcasters with 100 employees or less and that cover local community news ensuring that truly local news outlets will receive this assistance.

Now that the Senate and the Assembly have released their respective budget resolutions, both chambers will begin negotiations with Hochul to establish the final state budget. Lawmakers face an April 1 deadline to finalize negotiations.

“The Empire State Local News Coalition applauds Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, bill sponsor Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, and the entire Majority Conference for including the Local Journalism Sustainability Act in the State Senate’s one-house budget resolution. Our coalition’s unprecedented mobilization of more than 150 New York local news outlets in just a few months sent a clear message to Albany: it’s time to support local journalism. Communities across our state are speaking up about the indispensable role of local news in safeguarding democracy and strengthening social ties amid a time of unprecedented crisis for the news industry,” said Zachary Richner, founding member of the Empire State Local News Coalition. “The Local Journalism Sustainability Act will incentivize the hiring of journalists and ensure that New Yorkers have access to the quality, independent local news they deserve. We’re thrilled that the Senate has answered the call, and urge Governor Hochul and the Assembly to support inclusion of this transformative bill in the final budget,” Richner added.

New York State has experienced a 50% decrease in the number of newspapers since 2004, resulting in thousands of lost jobs and stories. There is a growing number of communities with little to no access to local newspaper coverage: 13 New York counties are down to just one newspaper and Orleans County is the first with no local newspaper at all.