Albany leaders continue to debate state budget, expect to vote for another extender

Apr. 9—ALBANY — Over a week late, the final New York state budget is nearing completion, according to Albany leaders.

Assembly members returned to the Capitol on Sunday to authorize a third short-term extender to keep state business going to Thursday. The state Senate passed that extender early Monday, before the eclipse started.

Assemblymember Helene E. Weinstein, D-Brooklyn, chair of the Ways and Means Committee, told lawmakers on the Assembly floor that the third extender authorized $701.8 million for state operations from Monday to Thursday, and the three extenders in total have authorized $1.21 billion since April 1.

The key points of the state spending plan are being negotiated, largely in private, between Governor Kathleen C. Hochul, Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie, D-Bronx and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, D-Yonkers. The three leaders put out separate budget proposals earlier this year, and have been hammering out the differences in the ensuing weeks. Hochul's plan called for $233 billion in spending, no tax increases, and a number of policy proposals including a controversial call to rewrite the formulas that calculate annual school aid from the state, a plan to close up to five state prisons with 90 days notice, and other issues. Her plan notably included none of the housing provisions that held up budget talks for over a month last year, instead making minor statutory changes to grant programs aimed at boosting local support for housing development.

Meanwhile, the state Assembly's budget plan calls for $245.8 billion in spending, and the state Senate's plan calls for $246.4 in spending. Both houses rejected the school aid changes and called for more state-led housing developments and limits on landlord's abilities to evict residents or raise rent. The Assembly plan calls for no prison closures, while the Senate plan allows for five closures with 180 days notice.

Over the last few days, it appears some of the differences between the three plans have been addressed. Stewart-Cousins said in a press briefing on Tuesday afternoon that negotiations were progressing.

"We are at the beginning of the end," she said. "But the end is hard."

She said lawmakers are expecting to vote on another budget extender on Thursday.

Last Friday, Hochul told reporters in an impromptu press briefing that she was ceding ground on the school aid changes. Her plan had been to rewrite the foundation aid formulas that calculate how much state funding goes to each district, and remove a line from state law that prevents those funding totals from decreasing year-over-year for individual districts.

Her plan would cut millions from some districts, largely rural and suburban districts, while other districts would see millions more in state aid. But with no finalized agreement in place, districts have been budgeting blind for weeks, required to send their budgets to voters for approval in May.

On Tuesday, Stewart-Cousins said the spending plan would not be as extreme as Hochul's original plan, but didn't say Hochul had completely reversed course.

"I think we are looking at mitigating the pain that have of the school districts were going to experience," she said.