File Photo: Cars are seen in a traffic jam on the 1st Ave in Manhattan, New York, the United States, Oct. 31, 2012. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)
NEW YORK, April 1 (Xinhua) -- New York City will become the first U.S. city to adopt congestion pricing for vehicles entering the busiest part of the borough of Manhattan.
Lawmakers in the state of New York reached an agreement on the policy, among other issues, on late Sunday as they rushed to finalize a 175.5 billion U.S. dollars state spending plan for the 2019-2020 fiscal year due on Monday.
New York City will join the ranks of London, Milan and Singapore to charge an extra fee for drivers heading into the central business district of Manhattan, and the billions of dollars that are expected to be raised will be used in fixing the city's mass transit system.
A review board will determine the amount of the toll, exemptions and other details before it goes into effect in 2021.
The state legislature also passed a statewide ban on most single-use plastic bags provided by supermarkets and other retailers, which will be in place on March 1, 2020. Cities and counties will have the option to charge a five-cent fee on paper bags.
A similar ban has been in effect in the state of California since 2016. And all counties of the island state of Hawaii also ban plastic bags, although it's not state-mandated.
The budget also includes a permanent, annual 2-percent cap on local property taxes, eliminating cash bail for misdemeanors and non-violent arrests, and increasing state spending on Medicaid and other health care programs.
