NY Assembly Democrats propose 25-cent fee on deliveries to boost transit systems

The conference's one-house budget includes a 25-cent fee on deliveries. According to the Assembly's summary of the spending plan, the fee would apply to "online and in-store purchase deliveries" in New York. 

Certain transactions would be exempt, such as food and medication deliveries. 

If the fee is adopted, Assembly Democrats estimate it would generate $115 million in revenue in the 2023-24 fiscal year, then $197 million in each of the next three fiscal years.

The revenue would support New York's transit systems. While the funding would help the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, it would also go to Centro, which operates bus service in central New York, and other upstate agencies. 

The fate of the fee will be decided in budget negotiations between the Assembly, state Senate and Gov. Kathy Hochul. When Hochul unveiled her 2023-24 budget proposal, she did not have a delivery fee as part of her revenue plan. The state Senate did not have the proposed fee in its spending plan, which was released on Tuesday. 

Hochul and state lawmakers hope to have a new budget by April 1 when the new fiscal year begins.