Early this session, it seemed like Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Legislature had reached an agreement on at least one thing: to modernize the state's short-term Temporary Disability Insurance for employees who cannot work due to illness, pregnancy or non-work-related injury.

The maximum TDI, or paid medical leave, benefit of $170 per week has not changed for 35 years. In January, legislative leaders agreed it must be increased, but it was removed from the state's $237 billion budget at the last minute after Hochul wanted to reduce the benefit to 20% of a worker's average weekly wage for the second half of the 26-week program.

"That's quite offensive to workers," Assembly Labor Committee chair Harry Bronson told Spectrum News 1. "It suggests that they're milking the system taking advantage of the system. That's not the case at all, so we really wouldn't go there."

Bronson sponsors a bill to increase the disability cap outside the budget to 50% of the employee's average weekly wage, increasing to 67% over four years. The employee and employer share the cost of the benefit, so an increase would not have a fiscal impact on the state.

Several lawmakers said this week they will fight hard to compromise with the Second Floor and get it done before session ends June 6.

"This is one of those issues where, if you are not in need of temporary disability insurance, you may not be aware of how much it impacts your daily life," Sen. Jeremy Cooney said Wednesday. "But if you need the benefit and you can't pay your rent, you can't feed your family, that's a real challenge that needs to be fixed."

The paid medical leave program helps New Yorkers take time off work for long-term treatment, such as cancer or pregnancy. Approximately 30% of disability claims are pregnancy-related.

But legislators said they will push for other measures to help workers who are left out of the current paid medical leave program.

Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar carries a bill to expand Paid Family Leave for state workers to include women who give birth to a stillborn child and give them 12 weeks of paid time off to recover.

"Either one of these tracks will help these women," said Rajkumar, a Queens Democrat. "It's really a drop in the bucket in terms of cost — we're talking about 1,400 women a year only. We all know someone who have gone through this tragedy and we can't let them go through it alone."

The proposals have bipartisan support, and lawmakers say they want to unify behind one of the solutions so workers get help as soon as possible.

Representatives with Hochul's office did not answer questions about why the governor supported a reduced TDI benefit in the second half of the program.

“Gov. Hochul’s Executive Budget included a major expansion of New York’s paid medical leave benefits – the first of its kind in nearly four decades," governor's spokesperson Justin Henry said in a statement Wednesday. "The governor is committed to putting more money in the pockets of New Yorkers, particularly in their time of need, and will review legislation if it passes in both houses of the Legislature.”

The Legislature continues to work on other bills to help pregnant New Yorkers and reduce the state's maternal mortality rate, which is higher than the national average.

Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte-Hermelyn's son, Jonah, died 7 years ago after being born 22-and-a-half weeks premature. The Brooklyn assemblywoman also recounted how she was bed-ridden while recovering from a cesarean section. She's pushing for her legislation to increase resources for postpartum depression and doula care.

"There's so many things we're looking at to expand to make the pregnant journey for women more safe and more comprehensive," she said.

A proposal to mandate insurance coverage for health conditions that lead to pre-term labor needs more work and will likely continue next year.