New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday defended the state budget process after brief conflicting messages from her and state Assembly Majority Leader Carl Heastie on where budget negotiations stood late last week, though a final deal remains unfinished.
Hochul on Thursday said a general budget agreement regarding the governor’s big policy items had been reached, though Heastie came out afterward and pushed back on her assertion the deal was done. A day later, Heastie said his “concern was more of the process.”
“I think if you look at what we’ve done for the last few years, as details start leaking out from conferences on policies that I put in, like were just out there explaining what they are,” Hochul said Monday. “And I was very specific, very specific, when I came out and said there’s a lot of details to be worked out, a lot of finances.”
Some lawmakers have expressed frustrations over the budget process this year, which is now nearly six weeks late from its April 1 deadline. Some are accusing the governor of a demonstrated pattern of holding up the budget process for her own priorities.
Heastie on Friday said he had a good conversation with the governor, and Hochul on Monday she had spoken with him and state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins since last week’s general agreement announcement.
“I think there’s always a different variation of this but I’m not going down that rabbit hole at all because I have a strong, strong relationship with both leaders,” Hochul said.
Lawmakers last Thursday passed a tenth state budget extender to keep state operations funded.