New York state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie announced Tuesday that he has come to a compromise with the five New York district attorneys on changes to the state’s discovery laws. Gov. Kathy Hochul has yet to give the plan her OK as the state budget remains in limbo.

Discovery is the process of evidence exchange between the prosecution and the defense, and Hochul has said that loopholes in 2019 reforms have led to cases being dismissed on technicalities when trivial items are not turned over within the timetable required.

It comes as the constant presence of district attorneys in the discovery fight this budget cycle continues to sow chaos on the familiar concept of “three people in a room.”

Central to Hochul’s push was an effort to change the statute so that only evidence which is deemed "relevant" is required to be turned over rather than the current standard of "related." Heastie told Capital Tonight’s Susan Arbetter in an interview Tuesday that concept was the playing field for meeting in the middle.

“We tried to focus on things that were related to the charges so that was a good area of compromise,” he said. 

A source briefed told Spectrum News 1 that the switch from "related" to "relevant" would stand if the plan were to move forward, except in cases of police misconduct. Further, we’re told that an effort to decouple some aspects of discovery from the speedy trial clock would not be part of the deal, and the defense would have 35 days after a certificate of compliance is filed to challenge it, putting a limit on when objections can be raised.

Additionally, as Heastie and lawmakers have sought to use the state Court of Appeals case People v. Bay, which essentially found that under current state law there are avenues a judge can take aside from dismissal if it is proven that a prosecutor can prove that they made a "good faith effort" to turn over an item that was missed, prejudice would be added to what a judge can consider during that process.

Some progressive lawmakers have pushed for a simple codification of People v. Bay. Heastie said the Democratic conference is "OK in moving forward" though some expressed frustration to Spectrum News 1. The state Senate also appeared poised to join the Assembly in the compromise, though some members conceded that if they sign off, it will be more to bring the lengthy process to an end rather than an actual endorsement of the policy proposal.

Heastie told reporters Tuesday that he has now met a primary demand of the governor.

“The governor always told me she wanted the DAs to be in a good place, the DAs seem to be in very good place, her team was briefed on the language last night and they seem to be fine,” he said.

Despite that, Hochul would not give the compromise her full stamp of approval when asked Tuesday afternoon. 

In fact, she went ahead and held an event on discovery an hour away from the Capitol in Kingston, in Ulster County, at which she asked those in attendance to call lawmakers to lobby for her plan.

“I believe there is conversations going on as we speak, which is why I’m anxious to get back to the Capitol, there could be a resolution in sight," she said after acknowledging she was aware of the compromise.

As she went on to discuss budget items that are still up in the air, she stressed that discovery is not closed even if the DAs are fine with what they worked out with Heastie. Last week, Hochul dispatched some of those very same DAs to make her case three days in a row. 

“It ain’t over til it’s over. Let me be assured that we have the deal that I want to have because I have said countless times there is no budget without this being settled,” she said.

Even if Hochul were to agree to the discovery compromise, issues of involuntary commitment standards for mentally ill individuals, a potential mask restriction in cases where there is criminal intent, and other fiscal matters remain unresolved pushing an officially adopted budget at least days into the future.