On Monday evening, 28 days after the state budget deadline and an undetermined number of days before it is passed, Gov. Kathy Hochul declared victory.

“I’m really proud to say that we got it done,” she said of what she described as an across-the-board sweep of her top budget priorities. “The budget is largely complicated and there are members who want to weigh in on their issues. But on the big-ticket items, the middle class tax cut, child tax credit, the entire affordability agenda, the inflation rebate [check], covered school lunches and breakfasts for families...this all took a lot of effort and what I'm here to say is it's accomplished and I'm really proud of it.”

Though Hochul’s top proposals for tightening the state’s discovery laws to avoid dismissals on technicalities, changes to involuntary commitment standards, a bell-to-bell cell phone ban, and legislation related to the wearing of face masks in the commission of a crime are largely settled, the announcement came before major issues were resolved. Those are not insignificant, including how a revamp of the Foundation Aid formula will take shape and a decision on how to address the staffing criss in state prisons.

Put state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins down as unsurprised.

“When you know what people tend to do, then you’re not surprised,” she said when asked if she was aware Hochul planned to announce a budget framework before key elements of the plan were completed, which she has turned into something of a budget tradition. “I focus always on completing the job, I spend less time reacting to what people want to do.”

The state Legislature passed an extender to fund state government through Thursday, and lawmakers said they were unsure the budget process would be wrapped up before early next week. 

Lawmakers conferenced issues of DOCCS reform, specifically what to do about Hochul's proposal to expand merit time, with no concrete resolution Tuesday. Foundation Aid was not even conferenced by the Assembly as of Tuesday evening.

“She knows, and I’m sure she said yesterday, that there are still conversations to be had,” Stewart-Cousins said. “We are having them.”

The issue of merit time is directly tied to the three-week illegal correction officer strike which culminated in the firing of 2,000 officers in March. Stewart-Cousins explained that while the governor’s proposal to expand the DOCCS commissioner’s authority over programming predates the strike, the effort became more complicated as the strike took a toll on staffing.

State Sen. Jeremy Cooney, who sponsors the earned time act alongside Anna Kelles in the Assembly, said conversations around expanding earned time and merit time have been slow to come to a conclusion because lawmakers are taking a deep dive into the weeds on the issue.

“We want to make sure the program is set up to be successful,” he said.

Cooney said a previous proposal by Hochul to expand merit time to individuals who have been convicted of some violent offenses with the exception of murder and sex crimes has been dropped, and conversation is now focused on the mechanisms of how credit is awarded and retained.

“How much time off of a sentence can a person earn by participating, we’re also looking at vesting, so can a person vest time so they don’t lose it arbitrarily,” he said.

Kelles has said the full Earned Time Act will be a "number one priority" if she is not satisfied with what makes it into the budget as Republicans have slammed the proposal as a continuation of what they describe as prioritizing offenders over victims.

Cooney said a variation of Hochul’s proposal to lower the age to be a correction officer from 21 to 18 is in a "good spot" to make the final cut after Hochul told reporters Monday the proposals were not yet locked down.

“There will be substantial reforms in the budget, there are still a couple of loose ends we’re tying up in the next day or two,” Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Jackie Bray said.

Hochul stressed that the issue of the prison strike will also have an impact on the fiscal picture, identifying it as a culprit in shrinking the pot for her proposal for inflation rebate checks. About $700 million was redirected from that plan to pay for the strike in this budget resulting in smaller checks. 

“We’re still paying in extraordinary numbers every month as thousands of workers walked off their jobs,” Hochul said at an event Tuesday.

On school aid, Stewart-Cousins said she would still advise districts to plan for Hochul’s baseline proposal for a 2% increase in Foundation Aid, which is a full point below the Senate’s 3% proposal.

“Anything beyond that would be gravy,” she said.

The continued uncertainty comes a day after districts needed to submit their property tax report cards.

Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas pointed out Tuesday that it’s not just about the final aid number, but the way in which the formula is revamped to reflect current realities. A $1 million study of the Foundation Aid formula was included in last year’s budget and Hochul, the Senate and Assembly all had different takes on how to use the study to fuel the reboot.

“The Assembly one house includes looking at English Language Learners, and then on the Senate side they did quite frankly a better assessment of the regional cost index so that it would be more reflective of the true cost of providing a sound basic education for every child across the state,” she said. “We are pushing for those measures to be included, we don’t know if they have been included as we haven’t conferenced it and discussed it among members.”

Multiple lawmakers said that given the state’s fiscal picture, the final number is unlikely to approach the higher figures proposed by the Legislature and will likely fall below even meeting in the middle, though lawmakers may be able to eke out a few more tenths of a percentage point.