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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced in a statement Monday that she submitted a bill to extend the deadline for her state budget proposal as contentions with lawmakers over issues like bail reform and housing continue to stall an agreement.

The budget, now due next Monday, April 10, proposes a record-high $227 billion in spending for the 2024 fiscal year, which marks around a 5% increase from her then-record-high proposed spending of $216.3 billion for the 2023 fiscal year. The budget was originally due on Saturday, April 1.

In her statement ahead of the state assembly’s vote to pass the extender, Hochul said the extra time is necessary in order to achieve a comprehensive budget.

“New Yorkers are concerned about public safety, the rising cost of housing, and ensuring high-quality schools for all our kids, and any budget deal must make progress on these core issues,” Hochul said in the statement. “I have been negotiating in good faith with the legislature, but it is clear there is more work to be done before we reach an agreement.”

Following the missed deadline, Monday’s extender passed in the state assembly will enable government operations to continue and for state workers to receive paychecks until a final budget is enacted. Assistant Minority Leader Joseph Griffo (R-53) released a statement on Saturday following the missed deadline stressing the stall’s impact on New Yorkers, as well as attributing failed negotiations to Albany’s “one party rule.”

“A late budget has fiscal implications for our state, putting the funding of critical state programs in limbo, leaving schools and municipalities waiting to enact their own budgets in the dark and the pay of our hardworking state employees in jeopardy,” Griffo’s statement reads.

The central disagreement stalling the budget is Hochul’s bail reform plan, which was also a major holdup for last year’s late budget. In last year’s six-day period of overdue budget negotiations, Hochul agreed to maintain New York bail law precedent but was able to expand judges’ consideration criteria to encompass harm caused by an alleged crime.

The final budget agreement of $220 billion was submitted on April 7, 2022 after also missing its April 1 deadline.

This year, Hochul is again pushing to get rid of the “least restrictive” standard compelling judges to set bail at the lowest threshold necessary to control flight risk. As of April 5, State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins has not ruled out a compromise on Hochul’s proposed bail law changes.

Budget negotiations will continue through the Easter and Passover holidays, and unless a budget agreement is reached, the extender’s end would halt state operations as of Monday, April 10.

Published on April 5, 2023 at 12:42 am

Contact Jana: jlseal@syr.edu | @JanaLoSeal