For those who say that an on-time budget in New York State is about as likely as a solar eclipse, the odds on an eclipse are about to improve.
The negotiations over the state budget, which was due on April 1, have stretched on for more than a week past the deadline as differences over housing, education and health care have divided Democratic legislative leaders in Albany.
Now an eclipse has become grounds for further delay: The Assembly has decided not to hold session on Monday to allow members to view the astrological phenomenon from the comfort of their home districts.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, a moderate Democrat from Buffalo, has sought to use the budget to address what she sees as some of the most pressing issues facing the state: rising education and health care costs; a housing shortage; and the stubborn persistence and residual damage of retail theft.
But an increasingly progressive Legislature has its own ideas, rejecting the governor’s proposals on education and health care and calling for more tenant protections, climate measures and an expansion of free bus service in all five boroughs.
Ms. Hochul said that negotiations with leaders in the Legislature had been respectful and productive.
“We are not finished yet,” she said on Thursday, adding: “But I also think there’s a lot of good progress made. Everybody’s rolling up their sleeves ready to work.”
Here’s where things stand:
Legislature triumphs on education, for now
A proposal to change the way that school aid is calculated is off the table for the time being, Ms. Hochul confirmed on Thursday.
The proposal had been part of the governor’s push to modernize the state’s education funding formula, which relies on enrollment figures that are more than a decade old.
Legislature leaders acknowledged that the formula was out of date, but rejected the governor’s proposal, which would have caused half of New York’s school districts to lose funds in an election year.
Even so, Ms. Hochul vowed to put a new process in place by next year’s budget.
“I’m giving everybody the notice, the warning that they all ask for,” she told reporters on Thursday. “There will be a different formula. And I’m just deciding with the leaders how that mechanism will work.”
Lawmakers have also refused to include an extension of mayoral control of New York City schools in the state budget, opting to push the matter into the second half of the legislative session.
Cracking down on shoplifting and illegal cannabis
Every year since taking office, Ms. Hochul has sparred with the Legislature over criminal justice, and this year is no exception.
In her executive budget, the governor proposed increasing criminal penalties for attacks on retail workers, part of a broad strategy aimed at addressing what she called an upward trend of organized retail theft that had been particularly conspicuous in New York City.
Democrat lawmakers have been largely skeptical of increasing penalties, questioning whether such measures are an effective deterrent.
“The question should not be, ‘Are you going to raise penalties because you wanted to deter crime?’” Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie told reporters on Tuesday. “The question should be, ‘Do you want to raise penalties because you want people in jail longer?’”
More popular is a proposal that would give localities more power to crack down on the proliferation of unlicensed cannabis vendors, which many worry will continue to undermine the nascent legal market.
Last month, Ms. Hochul ordered a review of the state’s cannabis regulator, which oversaw a sluggish legalization and licensing process.
A long-awaited deal on housing
Last year, Ms. Hochul proposed an ambitious plan to tackle affordable housing, only to have the clock run out after lawmakers failed to come to an agreement that would satisfy developers, tenants, labor and localities.
State leaders are trying again this year, working toward a deal they hope will spur construction of thousands of new housing units over the next decade, while still protecting existing tenants.
Such a measure is likely to include some type of affordable housing tax credit and an expansion of tenant protections in line with the legislation known as “good cause.” That bill, which would protect tenants from unreasonable rent increases and require landlords to offer lease renewals, has been fiercely opposed by landlords.
And while progress has been made on a deal, questions remain about who would be subject to the protections, and whether localities can opt out of regulations, among other things.
Even so, the governor said, a deal was close: “We’re in the homestretch,” she said on Thursday.
Cameras in courtrooms, and Cuomo’s legal bills
The Senate wants to allow audiovisual equipment in New York courtrooms, paving the way for journalists to record and even broadcast trials directly to the public.
Under the proposal, a judge could decide on a case-by-case basis where and when to allow the media to observe legal proceedings. Under current law, recording is never allowed, even if a judge believes it is in the public interest.
The measure could theoretically be in place for the criminal trial of former President Donald J. Trump, who is charged with having sent hush money to a porn star during his 2016 presidential run. That trial is scheduled to begin April 15.
New York is one of just two states to summarily restrict audiovisual equipment in courtrooms, according to Brad Hoylman-Sigal, the Judiciary Committee chairman and the sponsor of the bill.
The Senate is also behind a push to restrict elected officials from having their legal bills reimbursed by taxpayers.
The measure poses a not-so-subtle threat to former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who has been embroiled in litigation over sexual harassment claims, his handling of nursing homes during the Covid-19 pandemic, and efforts to seize the proceeds from a $5 million book deal.
Mr. Cuomo, who has denied any wrongdoing and fought back in the courts, has accumulated millions of dollars’ worth of legal bills.
Thus far, the former governor has sought reimbursement for $1.75 million, but records show the total amount could be many times that figure.
It is not yet clear where the Assembly and the governor’s office stand on the proposal.
Other issues on the table
With so many major items still unresolved, lawmakers, activists and lobbyists sense openings to wedge some of their favored proposals into the budget.
Environmentalists believe this could be the year that New York adopts a transformative bill aimed at forcing the transition from gas to renewables, called the N.Y. Heat Act. The measure, which would repeal gas incentives and institute price caps to ensure affordability, has drawn fierce opposition from the fossil fuel industry, which says the bill will drive up costs for consumers.
Ms. Hochul embraced only a limited version of the proposal in her executive budget, but advocates are hoping to get her full support.
Lawmakers also want to spend $45 million to expand free bus service in New York City from one line per borough to three; the proposal has the support of nearly every member of New York’s congressional delegation.
