ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers said they struck a deal on April 28 for New York’s $254 billion budget framework for the fiscal year that started April 1. Though the official language remains under wraps a month after it was due, the agreement earmarks $2 billion for the state’s first-ever inflation refund checks to over 8 million taxpayers.

Under the plan, every individual New Yorker who filed their taxes, can’t be claimed as a dependent, and makes below $150,000 a year is supposed to get back at least $150. Here’s the breakdown:

• Joint filers earning up to $150,000 get $400
• Joint filers earning between $150,000 and $300,000 get $300
• Single filers and heads of household earning up to $75,000 get $200
• Single filers and heads of household earning between $75,000 and $150,000 get $150

As originally proposed, the checks would have gone to 8.6 million people, but the governor’s office said it’s now down to 8.2 million. That represents about 400,000 New Yorkers who filed their own returns while claimed as a dependent on their parent’s return, so they won’t qualify under the final agreement.

No application will be necessary. The state will use recent tax filings to issue checks automatically once the budget passes and Hochul signs it into law. She has carefully referred to them as inflation refund or rebate checks—linking to tax gains from rising costs—rather than stimulus checks.

The checks are supposed to blunt the effects of inflation on New York families who struggled with surging grocery and fuel bills while the state saw record sales tax income. Inflation has driven prices and sales tax collections higher, creating a surplus that, according to Hochul, belongs to New Yorkers.

“I can’t stop inflation. It’s one thing we cannot do here in the State of New York, but I know this: Everyone across the state paid more over the last few years because inflation drove up prices,” Hochul said in a press briefing on Wednesday. “When you have a sales tax on a product, you paid more than you ever thought you would because of inflation. So the state collected more than we anticipated in sales tax revenue.”

But, “I was on record as saying it was a gimmick when Andrew Cuomo did it,” said Democratic Assemblymember Phil Steck. “I think, for the most part, people would like to see the money either spent in other areas or, if we’re really going to have a tax break, it’s something that’s long-lasting, not a one-shot rebate check. I have never found this to be a good policy, but it can be a good political move.”

“Unfortunately, New York’s elected leaders are not dealing with the massive problems caused by the highly likely cuts to federal funding,” read part of a statement from government accountability watchdog group Reinvent Albany released in March. “Vexingly, our top elected representatives are instead squandering billions on an irrational inflation rebate.”

Meanwhile, New York budgeted for over $90 billion in federal aid for the fiscal year—more than half of which covers Medicaid—money now in question. If Congress cuts federal funding for the state, lawmakers may convene a special session to fill gaps in the enacted budget.

For now, lawmakers have passed repeated budget extenders to keep the state running while they craft the final budget bills. The current extender ends on April 6. Voting on those budget bills should take place by April 9, according to current projections among legislators.

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