State Budget

State comptroller cautions lawmakers ahead of budget season with dismal taxpayer migration report

BY Bernadette Hogan New York City

New York’s top money manager released a new report showing the state’s tax collections were negatively impacted by people leaving the state due to the pandemic — issuing a word of caution to lawmakers ahead of budget season.

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli published a review of the data from the state Department of Taxation and Finance, comparing tax collection information between 2020 and 2021 to pre-pandemic trends.

Continue Reading

Hochul to New York business leaders: Employ asylum seekers

BY Seamus Lyman New York State

Gov. Kathy Hochul spoke to New York state business leaders Friday about securing employment for asylum seekers, alluring businesses to New York and tackling large budget deficits in the years ahead.

Hochul addressed the Business Council of New York State at the group’s annual retreat in Bolton Landing on Lake George. It features meetings focused on issues impacting business in the state over the next decade or more.

Continue Reading

How tough will New York's state budget really be?

BY Nick Reisman New York State

The scene is six months from now: Gov. Kathy Hochul is presenting a state budget that declares the days of wine and roses are once again over, the credits will have to be cut up in order to get spending under control. Taxes may have to go up to protect essential services for New Yorkers.

Or, an alternative scene: New York and the national economy is doing far better than expected at the start of 2024. Inflation has been tamed and revenue is flowing to New York to help pay for schools, health care and other major ticket items in the budget.

Continue Reading

For New York's budget, spending is up, but tax revenue is going down

BY Nick Reisman Albany/Capital Region

New York is starting to experience a slowdown in money flowing into the state's coffers, a decline that comes just as temporary federal pandemic aid has largely dried up, and the newly approved $229 billion budget increased spending.

Fiscal watchdogs in recent days have raised concerns with a decline in the state's main driver for revenue, the personal income tax, dropping due in part to a decline in bonuses in the financial sector on Wall Street.

Continue Reading

Lawmakers want to reverse New York budget's Medicaid move

BY Nick Reisman Albany/Capital Region

Republican lawmakers are trying to reverse a provision in New York's $229 billion state budget that shifted $1 billion in Medicaid funding away from county governments.

County leaders have warned that without the combined $1 billion from federal medical assistance percentage funds, they could be forced to consider property tax increases.

Continue Reading

New York farmers savor a victory in budget, prepare for a fight

BY Susan Arbetter New York State

While much of the conversation around farms and the New York state budget has revolved around a planned hike in the minimum wage, there is some good news for farmers. Jeff Williams, director of public policy for the New York Farm Bureau (NYFB), calls passage of a renewable investment tax credit for farmers, “wonderful."

“[The tax credit] is designed to spur investing in farms across the state, whether it’s equipment, machinery, land, buildings,” Williams said. “It’s really a watershed program.”

Continue Reading

Advocate for immigrants breaks down New York's budget

BY Nick Reisman Albany/Capital Region

The $229 billion state budget finalized last week could have done more to address the needs of immigrants living in the state, according to New York Immigration Coalition Executive Director Murad Awawdeh.

The budget did not provide enough of a boost in legal assistance for immigrant communities, while a proposal to allow undocumented adults living in New York the ability to access the Essential Plan for health insurance faltered in the final days of the negotiations.

Continue Reading

Dissecting the New York budget from both sides of the aisle and state

BY Nick Reisman and Tim Williams New York State

New York state finally has a budget — albeit a month late.

State Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, a Republican from Western New York, and state Sen. Jabari Brisport, a self-proclaimed socialist from Brooklyn, joined Capital Tonight to discuss what made it in and what was left out of the budget.

Continue Reading

Farms see mixed bag in New York budget deal

BY Nick Reisman Albany/Capital Region

The $229 billion budget was ultimately a mixed result for the state's agriculture sector.

On the one hand, farm organizations are concerned about the financial effect an increase in the minimum wage and its subsequent tie to inflation. But at the same time, farmers will benefit from the funding of environmental, marketing and research programs in the final spending agreement.

Continue Reading

New York's budget includes funding for publicly financed campaigns

BY Nick Reisman Albany/Capital Region

A voluntary program of publicly financed campaigns will be funded as part of the state budget agreement finalized on Tuesday evening after lawmakers initially considered delaying its implementation.

The budget includes $39.5 million for New York's newly formed campaign finance system of public elections, in which campaigns can match low-dollar donations with public money.

Continue Reading

Inside New York's finalized $229 billion state budget

BY Nick Reisman Albany/Capital Region

State lawmakers completed a marathon day of voting to finalize a $229 billion state budget late Tuesday night that avoids broad-based increases in the personal income tax, boosts education aid to more than $34 billion and sets in motion a minimum wage increase.

The budget was completed more than a month past its April 1 due date as lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul negotiated changes to the state's 2019 law that limited circumstances in which bail could be required. Hochul was able to win those changes to expand bail consideration for judges, but failed to reach an agreement on her wide-ranging housing plan.

Continue Reading

New York lawmakers pass late budget as final pieces come together

BY Nick Reisman Albany/Capital Region
UPDATED 11:01 PM ET May. 02, 2023

New York state lawmakers finalized the passage of a $229 billion budget Tuesday night, a month after it was initially due.

The Democratic-led houses of the state Legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul agreed to a spending plan that will boost direct aid to schools by more than $2 billion, fund mass transit in the New York City metropolitan region, make changes to the state's bail law and raise the minimum wage in the coming years to $17 and then index it to the rate of inflation.

Continue Reading

Big changes to Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation board structure included in final budget bill

BY Ryan Whalen Albany

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Language in the final version of the New York state budget agreement makes major changes to the oft-maligned Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation.

The so-called "Big Ugly" bill includes a section changing the voting structure of the Western Regional OTB's board of directors. It gives more power, among the 17 municipalities that govern and share the public beneift corporation's profits, to the largest counties — Erie and Monroe — and two cities — Buffalo and Rochester.

Continue Reading

New York's budget will aid capital costs for SUNY, CUNY

BY Nick Reisman Albany/Capital Region

Additional money to help maintain public higher education campuses, as well as make renovations, will head to schools in the State University of New York and City University of New York systems as part of the state budget agreement.

As expected, lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul agreed to a budget that does not increase tuition for in-state students.

Continue Reading

New York state Senate leader: Budget end in sight

BY Kate Lisa New York State

Lawmakers are expected to finish passing the state budget Tuesday for Fiscal Year 2024 — now one month late.

Senators and assemblymembers debated and voted Monday on several budget bills that were printed over the weekend. State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said the two remaining to be published will drop late Monday night or early Tuesday morning.

Continue Reading

New York's budget won't hike income tax rates, disappointing progressives

BY Nick Reisman Albany/Capital Region

Personal income tax rates won't increase in New York's state budget, a move that never seemed to gain much traction in the talks and a development that disappoints progressive advocates who had called for the increase.

The budget is expected to be finalized this week and is more than a month late.

Continue Reading

New York budget veteran: Governor and Legislature racked up wins while Hochul changed narrative

BY Susan Arbetter New York State

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Thursday night announcement of a budget framework came as a surprise to many in Albany, but according to Shontell Smith, a veteran of budget negotiations as the former chief of staff and chief counsel to the Senate Democratic Conference, and currently executive vice president for Tusk Strategies, what happened wasn’t new or unusual.

“This is typical,” she told Capital Tonight. “We forget that…Gov. Cuomo would do it via press release, (announce) that there was a conceptual agreement amongst the leaders.”

Continue Reading

New York Assembly Housing Committee chair: Hochul's proposal 'can't just be done by edict'

BY Susan Arbetter New York State

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s marquee budget proposal was her New York Housing Compact, which would have created 800,000 housing units over 10 years. It was an ambitious plan that would have required each municipality in the state to meet certain growth metrics, but it never got off the ground.

The reason, according to state Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, chair of the Assembly Housing Committee, is that the plan was missing some key elements.

Continue Reading

New York's budget expected to boost support for families

BY Nick Reisman Albany/Capital Region

Federal aid during the pandemic expanded tax credits for families with young children and provided free breakfast and lunch to students in schools.

With that aid expired, the state budget could step in to partially fill the void of what advocates have contended were beneficial programs for families struggling with the cost of living.

Continue Reading

Once again, New York's bail law is set to change

BY Nick Reisman Albany/Capital Region

For the third time in the last four years, New York's law for when cash bail is required in criminal cases is set to change, an amendment driven by ongoing concerns over crime and public safety registered by voters, but opposed by the progressive supporters of a 2019 law.

An agreement in the tentative state budget deal announced Thursday by Gov. Kathy Hochul will end the so-called "least restrictive" restrictive standard when bail is being considered by judges in serious criminal cases and give them more discretion when considering bail.

Continue Reading

New York budget deal includes bail changes, minimum wage increases and school meals

BY Nick Reisman New York State
UPDATED 8:17 PM ET Apr. 27, 2023

Nearly a month after its initial due date, New York state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul have agreed to a $229 billion state spending plan that will make changes to a controversial bail law, boost direct aid to schools by billions of dollars and keep personal income tax rates the same.

"A conceptual agreement has been reached," Hochul said at a press conference Thursday evening.

Continue Reading

Tentative deal would raise Medicaid spending for New York hospitals, nursing homes

BY Nick Reisman Albany/Capital Region

Hospitals and nursing homes in New York could receive a higher reimbursement rate under a tentative agreement in the state budget.

But a broader deal for a state spending plan was not finalized on Thursday, and state lawmakers have left Albany for the next several days as issues addressing climate change are yet to be locked down.

Continue Reading

Source: New York lawmakers have agreement to expand child tax credit

BY Nick Reisman Albany/Capital Region

New York lawmakers have reached an agreement with Gov. Kathy Hochul to expand the child tax credit in the state to include children under the age of 4, a source familiar with the talks on Thursday said.

Expanding the tax credit is expected to be included in a finalized budget agreement, which could be struck this week.

Continue Reading

Too much policy in the New York state budget? Then don’t vote on it, policy expert advises lawmakers

BY Susan Arbetter New York State

The New York state budget is 26 days late. The reason, according to several lawmakers, is that Gov. Kathy Hochul packed her executive budget proposal full of policies, like her Housing Compact, bail reform, charter schools and the minimum wage — and each issue is taking time to negotiate.

This isn’t unusual; former Gov. Andrew Cuomo did the same thing.

Continue Reading

A $17 minimum wage faces criticism in potential New York budget deal

BY Nick Reisman Albany/Capital Region

A tentative agreement to raise New York's minimum wage to as much as $17 in the coming years has drawn critics from both sides of the aisle.

Progressive Democrats, labor union organizations and advocates are holding out for a $21.25 proposal initially made earlier this year in order to support low-income New Yorkers. Republicans and leading business groups argue the wage hike, which is also expected to be tied to inflation, will hurt job creation and drive up costs further.

Continue Reading

Republican lawmakers: Give New Yorkers time to read budget

BY Nick Reisman Albany/Capital Region

Republicans in the state Senate and Assembly Wednesday urged Gov. Kathy Hochul to allow for ample time to review any finalized state budget agreement and not rush the process when a deal is finally struck.

"There's a lot in there," said state Sen. Tom O'Mara. "There will be a lot in there. There's a lot unknown."

Continue Reading

New deadline could push New York's budget to a month late

BY Nick Reisman Albany/Capital Region

New York state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul must have either a finalized budget agreement in place or approve a sixth temporary extension of state spending by next Tuesday in order to avoid disrupting state employees paychecks on May 4, state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli in a letter said Wednesday.

Institutional payroll for thousands of state workers is scheduled for May 4, DiNapoli wrote in the letter.

Continue Reading

Upstate mayors call for higher Medicaid spending for nursing homes, hospitals

BY Nick Reisman Albany/Capital Region

Mayors from a half dozen upstate cities on Wednesday signed onto a letter released by a powerful health care workers union urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to increase Medicaid support for hospitals and nursing homes as part of the state budget.

The letter was facilitated by 1199SEIU, a key health care worker labor organization that has called for higher Medicaid reimbursement rates in the yet-to-be-finalized state budget, now more than three weeks late.

Continue Reading

Hochul on housing stalemate: 'This is the beginning of a journey'

BY Kate Lisa New York State

Gov. Kathy Hochul is committed to working on how to address the state's housing crises after she and legislative leaders could not overcome their impasse on the complex issue and make corresponding investments and policy changes in the next state budget.

"We're going to go back," Hochul told reporters Tuesday in wake of divided housing negotiations. "This is just the beginning of a journey. We're going to work on this until we solve this."

Continue Reading

Hochul: New York budget offers 'window' to address illegal cannabis

BY Nick Reisman Albany/Capital Region

Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to use the state budget process to address the proliferation of unregulated and illegal sales of cannabis that she worries could hinder the growth of the legal marketplace.

Lawmakers and Hochul are working to finalize a budget this week, but the discussion surrounding enforcement of illegal cannabis in the state has created a snag in the budget negotiations with the spending plan now more than a month late.

Continue Reading

Discontent among progressives swirl over $17 New York minimum wage plan

BY Nick Reisman Albany/Capital Region

Progressive advocates and lawmakers on Tuesday criticized a tentative plan to increase New York's minimum wage to $17 an hour for not going far enough to cover basic expenses of low-income working people.

The proposal would gradually increase the state's wage in the coming years, a provision that is coming together as lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul hope to finalize a budget this week.

Continue Reading

Hochul says New York state budget will wrap soon

BY Nick Reisman New York State

New York’s state budget, now nearly a month late, could be closing in on a final agreement in the coming days, Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Tuesday.

Hochul, addressing reporters in Albany, said she was optimistic a plan can be in place by the end of the week.

Continue Reading

Lawmaker doesn't expect streaming tax to be included in New York budget

BY Ryan Whalen Tonawanda

TONAWANDA, N.Y. -- Democratic leadership in the New York state Assembly is proposing a 4% state and 4% local sales tax on digital streaming products, excluding newspapers and periodicals.

However, Assemblyman Bill Conrad, D-Tonawanda, said the plan does not have support from the entire conference, including himself.

Continue Reading

New York Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt discusses late state budget, judicial nominations

BY Susan Arbetter New York State

Democrats have supermajorities in both houses of the New York state Legislature, which is why some people are scratching their heads over the fact that New York has the latest state budget in 13 years.

Capital Tonight spoke with Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt about how he views budget-making in Albany, as well as possible changes to how Court of Appeals judges are selected.

Continue Reading

New York Senate leader 'has to have tenant protections' in budget

BY Kate Lisa New York State
UPDATED 9:23 PM ET Apr. 19, 2023

New York state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins says Democrats in the upper house will stand firm to include tenant protections in the final state budget, which is 19 days late.

Budget negotiations broke down this week as the governor and legislative leaders discussed how to fund affordable housing programs and incentives.

Continue Reading

New York budget stuck in neutral, and so is tax talk

BY Nick Reisman Albany/Capital Region

It’s a state budget that’s stuck in neutral. And for now, top Democrats and Gov. Kathy Hochul are not discussing the key topic of whether tax rates for upper income New Yorkers should increase.

"We in our one-house [budget proposal] talked about that possibility," Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said Wednesday. "But it’s not at the table right now."

Continue Reading

No deal expected on New York's budget this week

BY Nick Reisman Albany/Capital Region

An agreement on the state budget is not expected this week as a range of issues from housing policy to charter school and mass transit funding in New York remain under discussion, state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins on Wednesday said.

"This is the most laden budget I have had to deal with," Stewart-Cousins told reporters at a weekly news conference.

Continue Reading

New York Assembly Speaker Heastie: Budget deal 'not close'

BY Kate Lisa New York State

New York legislative leaders and Gov. Kathy Hochul aren't close to reaching a state budget deal as they continue to clash on housing, bail reform and other issues with the spending plan 18 days late, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said Tuesday.

A compromise on proposed changes to the state's bail laws and housing started to take shape, but remain uncertain after a meeting between leaders and Hochul on Tuesday. The top state officials exited the meeting without taking questions from reporters.

Continue Reading

Hochul: Incentives alone won't solve housing problems

BY Nick Reisman and Zack Fink Albany/Capital Region

Incentives to significantly expand available housing in New York and make it more affordable will not be enough, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Tuesday in a statement as her proposals face headwinds in the ongoing budget negotiations.

Sources on Tuesday said lawmakers were jettisoning key provisions in Hochul's initial statewide housing proposal this year, including fast-tracking qualified housing projects over local objections.

Continue Reading

New York lawmakers approve 3-day budget extension as bail negotiations advance

BY Nick Reisman Albany/Capital Region

New York lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul agreed Monday to a 3-day temporary extension of state funding as an overhaul deal remains up in the air, but progress made on key issues.

Meanwhile, lawmakers and Hochul have made progress on making changes to New York's law that curtailed cash bail requirements for many criminal charges by jettisoning a proposal that would have ended the "least restrictive" standard for serious charges.

Continue Reading

Beyond bail, more criminal justice changes are considered in New York budget talks

BY Nick Reisman Albany/Capital Region

Changes to New York’s controversial bail law have dominated the budget talks. But behind the scenes, further changes to the state’s criminal justice system could be made as part of a final spending plan that is now more than two weeks past its due date.

Lawmakers are weighing with Gov. Kathy Hochul whether to make further changes to the state's discovery law first approved four years ago as a way of accelerating access to evidence for criminal defendants.

Continue Reading

New York lawmakers have Tuesday deadline to pay state workers as budget talks continue

BY Nick Reisman Albany/Capital Region

New York lawmakers are facing a Tuesday noon deadline to approve a short-term spending measure if no budget deal is in place by then, state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli on Friday told top legislative leaders.

A budget extender must be in place by that time to ensure more than 50,000 state workers receive paychecks by Thursday, April 20.

Continue Reading

Discovery law changes could be part of New York budget talks

BY Nick Reisman Albany/Capital Region

Discovery laws in New York could be under scrutiny in the state budget talks as organizations representing public defenders on Wednesday raised opposition to any potential amendments.

Prosecutors have called for changes as well as more money to handle the faster turning over of evidence to defense, pointing to how time consuming the recently passed provisions have become for their offices.

Continue Reading

Changing New York's bail law a complex task for state leaders

BY Nick Reisman Albany

Changes to how New York’s bail laws work have courted growing controversy over the last four years – and are coming to a head in the state budget talks this month.

Top Democratic lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul are trying to thread a delicate needle: Making changes to a 2019 law that ended cash bail requirements for many criminal charges without undermining the original intent of the measure to ensure low-income people accused of crimes are not unfairly languishing in jail awaiting trial.

Continue Reading

Cost of climate policies heat up beyond New York budget talks

BY Kate Lisa New York State

Lawmakers leading the climate fight are turning up the heat about which climate protection measures should be in the final state budget and which are a priority for the remainder of the legislative session as Democrats start to fracture over how to pay to successfully meet New York's emission reduction goals outlined in state law.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has made it clear her administration won't include a provision in the next budget to alter the Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act, or Climate Act, and the timeline used to calculate greenhouse gas emissions. But it doesn't mean it won't be a possibility later this session, or that the other more robust measures climate advocates are pushing for won't advance outside the budget, either.

Continue Reading

Pros and cons of New York's 'Build Public Renewables Act'

BY Susan Arbetter New York State

New York was slow to adopt renewable energy under the administration of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

According to Inside Climate News, New York is number 24 out of 50 states when it comes to generating gigawatts of power, having created just 6,895 gigawatt hours of wind and solar in 2022 compared to Texas’ 136,000 gigawatt hours.

Continue Reading

Bail law changes continue to take up lion's share of New York budget talks

BY Nick Reisman Albany

Potential changes to New York's bail law remains the dominate issue in the ongoing budget talks, now 10 days past its due date.

State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie told reporters Monday the negotiations continue to center around Gov. Kathy Hochul's effort to make it easier for judges to set cash bail when defendants face serious criminal charges.

Continue Reading

New York's budget extension approved as broader deal remains elusive

BY Nick Reisman Albany

A stopgap budget provision funding New York's state government for the next seven days was approved on Monday, the second extension since lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul failed to reach an April 1 deadline to have a spending plan in place.

Lawmakers put the finishing touches on the measure just after midday; Hochul's office announced it was signed moments later.

Continue Reading

Labor unions push back on proposed New York bail law changes

BY Nick Reisman Albany

Labor unions this week are urging lawmakers to reject proposals to amend New York's 2019 law that limited the use of cash bail as the late state budget hinges on whether a deal on the issue can be reached.

Hochul wants to end the so-called "least restrictive" provision under the law that could enable judges to require bail under serious criminal charges. A broader state budget agreement has been late by a week over the issue.

Continue Reading

Climate pivot no longer central to state budget talks, says Hochul administration

BY Susan Arbetter New York State

In Albany, where lawmaking can move at the speed of smell, the Hochul administration’s retreat on a new climate policy was breathtaking.

On Monday, DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos and New York State Energy and Research Development Authority President and CEO Doreen Harris told Capital Tonight they were backing a bill sponsored by the Legislature’s Energy Committee chairs to, in effect, weaken the state’s climate laws. The purpose? To prevent New Yorkers from paying “potentially extraordinary costs."

Continue Reading

Graduate workers advocate to end SUNY, CUNY fees in New York budget

BY Kate Lisa New York State

The 5,000 members of SUNY's Graduate Student Employees Union are fighting hard to include one of the Legislature's proposals in the next state budget to phase out double-digit fees taken out of their annual stipends.

Graduate student teaching staff and assistants make up the backbone of instruction at SUNY and CUNY campuses, but continue to have to pay back 15 to 20% of their annual salary back to the university system.

Continue Reading

Hochul doesn't rule out a second budget extension

BY Nick Reisman Albany

Another temporary stopgap budget measure by next week was not ruled out by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday as talks continue for a broader agreement on a spending plan.

Hochul continues to seek changes to New York's 2019 bail law that could expand the circumstances in which bail is being considered by judges with defendants who face serious criminal charges as well as a statewide housing plan to add 800,000 units in the next decade.

Continue Reading

New York environmental officials say methane change won't be a budget priority

BY Nick Reisman Albany

Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration will not prioritize a proposal to re-calculate methane emissions as part of the ongoing state budget negotiations following an uproar from environmental and climate advocacy organizations over the plan.

But Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos and New York State Energy and Research Development Authority President and CEO Doreen Harrris did not rule out further pursuing the idea, warning that "affordability" for consumers needs to be part of the conversations surrounding how to transition New York from carbon-based fuels to more renewable and cleaner forms of energy.

Continue Reading

Progressives discuss New York budget dynamics, push for tax hikes on the wealthy

BY Susan Arbetter New York State

For all the lofty rhetoric around budgets being moral documents, while they’re being created, the sausage-making is done by people like you and me. People who get cranky after working weeks of late nights; who have stale pizza and Pepto-breath; who feel frustrated by political intransigence.

Here lies the danger of the late budget: That the very people responsible for the heavy lifting of creating it may get to a point where the major issues are such an ordeal that there’s no gas left in the tank for smaller issues that could be done post-budget.

Continue Reading

New York state budget talks continue, but no deal yet

BY Nick Reisman Albany

Negotiations between top Democrats in the state Legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul for a budget agreement continued on Tuesday even as rank-and-file lawmakers have left Albany for the next week.

State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie emerged from a roughly two hour, closed-door meeting in Hochul's office to only say talks were continuing.

Continue Reading

Bail debate 'sucking up most of the oxygen' in New York's budget talks

BY Nick Reisman Albany

New York's state budget debate has included weighty topics that will affect millions of people in the state: How to expand housing, whether the minimum wage should be increased, whether charter schools should expand and if wealthy people should get another tax increase.

But all of those issues are being subsumed in the budget talks by negotiations over once again changing New York's 2019 bail law.

Continue Reading

New York lawmakers approve stopgap budget measure as negotiations over bail law continue

BY Nick Reisman Albany
UPDATED 4:25 PM ET Apr. 03, 2023

State lawmakers approved Monday a stopgap budget measure that will temporarily fund New York's government for the next week as talks over a broader spending plan agreement continue without a deal.

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday announced she would send lawmakers the spending bill, which will expire on April 10.

Continue Reading

200 progressive groups urge against sweeping bail changes

BY Nick Reisman Albany

Hundreds of progressive-leaning organizations on Monday urged state lawmakers to avoid broad changes to New York's bail law that would result in jailing more defendants.

The plea from the groups, including the Fund Excluded Workers Coalition, CUNY Rising Alliance, Housing Justice for All, Sunrise Movement NYC, and the Alliance for Quality Education, comes as lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul are negotiating a state budget that was due to pass last weekend, but remains unsettled.

Continue Reading

Push for universal school meals in New York gets bipartisan support

BY Susan Arbetter New York State

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government provided meals to all students, but that policy ended last year.

Now, only the very poorest families qualify for federal meals programs. What advocates in Albany want is for the state to pick up the rest of the tab for all kids. The cost would be just up to $201 million a year.

Continue Reading

A look at the various gas ban proposals in New York

BY Ryan Whalen Buffalo

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Democratic leadership in New York state government wants to begin making natural gas a thing of the past. However, the plans for getting there differ.

Dennis Elsenbeck, head of energy and sustainability at Phillips Lytle, said buildings represent the state's largest single source of carbon emissions at roughly a third with transportation close behind.

Continue Reading

Bail law remains key sticking point as New York's budget misses deadline

BY Nick Reisman Albany

New York will start its fiscal year without a state budget in place as Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers have failed to reach the April 1 deadline amid differences over issues that range from housing policy to making alterations to a 2019 bail law.

Talks are expected to continue into the weekend between the governor and the top Democrats in the state Legislature. But rank-and-file members of the state Assembly and Senate have left the building, and despite the warnings from legislative leaders, indicated they will be out of Albany for at least part of the weekend with no agreement appearing imminent.

Continue Reading

Housing debate comes down to the wire in New York budget

BY Nick Reisman Albany

Housing policy has become one of the key sticking points in the ongoing state budget talks, the result of which could determine the course of an increasingly expensive cost on many New Yorkers.

At issue is Gov. Kathy Hochul's proposals to set a statewide housing compact with the goal of creating 800,000 additional units of housing. Progressive advocates have called for measures like a Good Cause Eviction measure, which is meant to make it harder for landlords to raise rents and evict tenants.

Continue Reading

5 issues to watch for as New York's budget deadline looms

BY Nick Reisman Albany

New York's state budget is due in the next day, but it's unlikely a deal can be reached by then.

But despite going into overtime with the negotiations, state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul have signaled they can reach compromises on the key issues that divide them.

Continue Reading

New York lawmakers weigh compromise on bail law changes

BY Nick Reisman Albany

Top Democrats in the state Legislature on Thursday signaled a willingness to "clarify" New York's 2019 bail law as conversations surrounding the issue remain a key sticking point in the unresolved state budget talks.

State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins did not rule out a potential compromise on the bail issue as Gov. Kathy Hochul has called for ending a so-called "least restrictive" provision for when judges determine bail for serious criminal charges.

Continue Reading

New York's state budget is expected to be late

BY Nick Reisman Albany

Disagreements over changes to New York's controversial bail law, as well as how to expand housing in the state, are fueling what is expected to result in a state budget that blows through Saturday's deadline, state lawmakers acknowledged on Thursday.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has pointed to her proposed changes to the state's bail law as well as her housing plan as key issues for her in the budget talks.

Continue Reading

N.Y. Assembly Higher Education Committee Chair Pat Fahy on the debate over spending

BY Susan Arbetter New York State

Because of falling enrollment and other issues, Gov. Kathy Hochul is urging tuition hikes at SUNY campuses in her executive budget.

She’s proposed 6% tuition increases at the state’s large research facilities in Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo and Stony Brook, as well as lower increases at SUNY’s other campuses. The hikes would be in effect for five consecutive years, allowing in-state tuition at flagship campuses to increase by 30%, if approved by the Legislature.

Continue Reading

How Republicans, advocates seek to bring transparency to New York’s budget talks

BY Nick Reisman Albany

Republicans in the New York state Senate Wednesday called for more sunshine — literally — in the state budget process.

The measure, a long-sought goal for Republican state Sen. Jim Tedisco, would require legislative activity to be conducted during traditional waking hours, and ban voting and debates at the state Capitol between 12 a.m. and 8 a.m.

Continue Reading

New York lawmakers seek safer water funding in the state budget

BY Nick Reisman Albany

Money to bolster water infrastructure in New York is being sought in a broader state budget deal as lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul negotiate a spending plan due at the end of the week.

Democratic state Sen. Michelle Hinchey on Wednesday along with advocates and technicians touted a $100 million proposal to strengthen water infrastructure in communities across the state.

Continue Reading

Support for safety net programs eyed in New York's budget

BY Nick Reisman Albany

During the COVID-19 pandemic, New York received billions of dollars to boost safety net programs. But now much of that money is going away.

Programs meant to combat hunger for needy people were boosted during the pandemic — billions of dollars in federal aid sent to New York during the emergency.

Continue Reading

New York Senate Republicans call for a state budget with fewer mandates

BY Nick Reisman Albany

Republicans in the state Senate on Tuesday criticized the escalating spending in New York's budget as lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul work toward a deal by Saturday's deadline.

But reaching a deal between Democrats who control the state Legislature and Hochul remains seemingly elusive at this point, and lawmakers in both parties were expecting to work at least into next week to reach a compromise.

Continue Reading

New York advocates push for 2 linked climate bills to be in state budget

BY Susan Arbetter New York State

New York leaders in Albany are close to an agreement on a first-in-the-nation ban on gas and fossil fuel hook-ups in new construction. The ban would likely start in 2025 or 2026, though that’s still being debated. The legislation will likely include exemptions for restaurants and back-up generators.

While both proposals are similar, the timeline for the legislature’s version of the “all-electric building act," sponsored by Brian Kavanagh and Emily Gallagher (S562A/ A920A), is somewhat more aggressive than the governor’s. It would prohibit “infrastructure, building systems, or equipment used for the combustion of fossil fuels in new construction statewide no later than December 31, 2023 if the building is less than seven stories and July 1, 2027 if the building is seven stories or more."

Continue Reading

Tax-the-rich debate heats up with New York budget deadline looming

BY Nick Reisman Albany

There's little shortage of ideas from Democratic lawmakers and progressive advocates for what billions of additional dollars gained from taxing wealthy people can do for the state.

They want the additional revenue to boost mass transit systems ravaged by the pandemic and a dropoff in ridership. They want to offset the effects of a higher cost of living for some of the state's poorest residents.

Continue Reading

Local government officials seek more input in housing debate

BY Nick Reisman Albany

More incentives to build and more community input: Those are the key features local government officials in New York are seeking as the debate over a statewide housing plan is intensifying in the budget negotiations this week.

The leading organizations that represent town, city and village governments in New York on Monday signaled they were supportive of housing provisions backed by state lawmakers in their budget proposals this month as Gov. Kathy Hochul calls for expanding housing by 800,000 units in the coming decade.

Continue Reading

Breaking down the politics behind the New York budget talks

BY Nick Reisman and Tim Williams New York State

It’s the busiest time of year in the state Capitol as lawmakers and the governor hammer out the details of a state budget that could end up being well over $200 billion. Political strategist Jack O’Donnell says Gov. Kathy Hochul is looking to put a “personal stamp” on this budget.

For decades, the budget was negotiated behind closed doors with just three men in the room. The doors of the room where the budget negotiations happen may still be closed, but there will be two women, Hochul and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, along with Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie.

Continue Reading

AARP pushes for pharmaceutical price transparency

BY Susan Arbetter New York State

In her executive budget, Gov. Kathy Hochul included a plan to require drug makers to report to the Department of Financial Services (DFS) planned price hikes in advance, including the reasons for those price increases.

The state Senate included many of these reforms in their one-house budget, but the Assembly did not.

Continue Reading

Hochul defends indexing minimum wage amid budget debate

BY Nick Reisman Albany

Democrats in the New York state Legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul this month are negotiating a change to New York's minimum wage that could link the base hourly pay in the state to the rate of inflation.

But lawmakers want to also increase the current wage beyond the $15 an hour in the New York City and $14.20 north of Westchester County. Business organizations, meanwhile, decry the effect the change would have on their bottom line.

Continue Reading

Hochul defends bail law changes, public safety funds in executive budget

BY Kate Lisa New York State

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday defended the public safety initiatives in her executive budget proposal, including her push to change the state's bail reform laws, after releasing new statewide crime data from the state Department of Criminal Justice Services.

Shootings in New York decreased by 16% from 2021 to 2022, including down 15% in upstate communities and a 17% reduction in New York City — or down to pre-pandemic levels, the governor said during a press conference in the state Capitol in Albany.

Continue Reading

Hochul says budget deadline will depend on key issues

BY Nick Reisman Albany

Gov. Kathy Hochul is hopeful a state budget can be agreed to and approved by April 1, the start of New York's fiscal year.

But as she is also seeking contentious changes to New York's law that curtails cash bail in criminal cases, she's not ruling out holding up a budget deal in order to secure her preferred adjustments.

Continue Reading

Sharp divide over housing plan for New York

BY Nick Reisman Albany

Expanding housing by 800,000 units over the next 10 years in New York has been a keystone plank in Gov. Kathy Hochul's $227 billion spending proposal.

But as she travels the state to tout the measure, Republicans have opposed the measures as an overreach in suburban communities. Democrats, meanwhile, want to go even further than Hochul's plans.

Continue Reading

Budget debate persists over how quickly New York hospitals are paid

BY Kate Lisa New York State

Both houses of the New York state Legislature are rejecting a proposal from Gov. Kathy Hochul that would require hospitals be paid within days of ordering a treatment or test for a patient.

Lawmakers are against the proposal included in Hochul's executive budget to reform managed health care, including requiring hospitals to be paid swiftly and limit lengthy reviews by a health care insurance provider.

Continue Reading

Public safety debates could dominate final New York state budget talks

BY Nick Reisman Albany

A debate over the extent to which New York's criminal justice laws should be changed — balanced against concerns over crime and public safety — is once again dominating the budget negotiations in Albany.

Measures to address crime, but also create a more equitable system of criminal justice in New York, is part of the push and pull in the state budget talks with less than two weeks to go before the April 1 deadline.

Continue Reading

Advocates urge New York to reject subsidies for several industries in budget

BY Nick Reisman Albany

Good-government advocates and progressive organizations are trying to convince New York lawmakers to reject an expansion of subisides for a variety of industries in the state budget this year.

Supporters of the subsidies have argued the tax incentives will help grow and expand jobs and industries, including film, TV and Broadway production in the state. But opponents contend there is little evdience the tax breaks create jobs or spur meaningful economic activity.

Continue Reading

New York lawmakers back nursing home oversight funding in budget talks

BY Nick Reisman Albany

New York lawmakers are backing a plan that would boost funding for an oversight program of the state's nursing homes and long-term care facilities as budget negotiations enter their final two weeks before the April 1 deadline.

The Assembly's budget proposal approved last week would add $15 million for the long-term care ombudsman program as advocates and lawmakers worry the program has fallen short of visiting facilities to ensure residents are being looked after safely.

Continue Reading

New York Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins says negotiating housing outside of the budget a possibility

BY Susan Arbetter New York State

Gov. Kathy Hochul put housing front and center in her proposed state budget. Her “New York Housing Compact” would build 800,000 homes over 10 years across New York state. There are two key elements to her plan: One is the state’s ability to override local zoning. The other is a tax break for New York City developers. Neither of those elements are in either of the legislative budgets.

“I think we all agree that we must build more housing. We definitely need affordable housing. So, I’m sure that will be a broad conversation,” Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins told Capital Tonight on Friday.

Continue Reading

New York Legislature veteran lays out path to a state budget

BY Susan Arbetter and Tim Williams New York State

Earlier this week, both New York legislative houses outlined their budget priorities as state leaders move through the budget negotiation process. The process is far from over as many late nights await lawmakers before the April 1 deadline.

Shontell Smith, former chief of staff for the state Senate Democrats turned executive vice president and co-head of the New York Practice at Tusk Strategies, told Capital Tonight that when the budget passes is dependent on “how hard people fight” for their priorities.

Continue Reading

All-electric construction push gets boost in New York budget talks

BY Nick Reisman Albany

The specifics differ, but Democratic state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul are backing the same goal of ending the use of fossil fuels like natural gas in new residential and commercial construction.

The competing plans, advancing to the same goal on different timetables and sizes of buildings, are being considered as lawmakers and Hochul negotiate a $227 billion state budget this month.

Continue Reading

Assembly and Senate want universal school meals in New York

BY Nick Reisman Albany

Universal meals in New York schools is being advanced this week by state lawmakers who are backing $280 million in the budget negotiations for the plan.

The universal school meals proposal has gained traction in the state Legislature over the last several weeks, drawing support from Democrats as well as Republican lawmakers after federal support for the program ended.

Continue Reading

New York lawmakers eye digital streaming media tax, delivery fee

BY Nick Reisman Albany

New Yorkers could be facing a tax on digital subscription streaming media services for music, TV and audiobooks as well as a fee for delivery services in order to raise money for mass transit under measures contained in a budget proposal being advanced Thursday in the state Assembly.

The tax and fee provisions come as New York is seeking to raise billions of dollars for mass transit as well as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in the New York City region.

Continue Reading

New York Assembly Speaker Heastie on housing, child care and opioids in chamber's one-house budget

BY Susan Arbetter New York State

The legislative one-house budget proposals don’t include several of the priorities that Gov. Kathy Hochul included in her own spending plan. There’s no tuition hike for SUNY and CUNY; no bail reform; her New York Housing Compact has been reworked; and both houses include a tax hike on wealthy New Yorkers which the governor specifically stated she didn’t want.

Nevertheless, state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie told Capital Tonight that there is plenty in common between the Legislature and the executive because so many of their goals remain the same. For example, both support a hike in the minimum wage, an increase in housing units and funding for the M.T.A.

Continue Reading

Democratic New York lawmakers eye mass transit, hospital funding amid tax hike

BY Nick Reisman Albany

Democratic lawmakers once again want to raise taxes on the richest New Yorkers — it's a position opposed by Republicans as well as Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.

While Republicans question the effect the tax increases could have the state's broader economy, Democrats want to see the money spent to aid lower income New Yorkers struggling amid rising inflation.

Continue Reading

You May Also Be Interested In