With a second week-long extender in the books, this year\u2019s budget process certainly looks different from those in years past. But several Albany lawmakers seem to welcome that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Legislature briefly returned to the Capitol on Tuesday to pass another budget stopgap bill that will keep state government running through April 14 as leaders plod through spending talks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It marks the second one-week extender in a row for lawmakers \u2014 issued at the direction of Gov. Kathy Hochul, who\u2019s knee-deep in serious negotiations with Senate and Assembly leaders. And it\u2019s a change compared to past years, when Hochul would offer two- or three-day extenders that had legislators headed back and forth from Albany even as negotiations dragged on.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This year, state leaders have been at odds for weeks over changes to the state\u2019s landmark 2019<\/a> Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, as well as Hochul\u2019s push to reform car insurance<\/a> and update the state\u2019s environmental review process. And they haven\u2019t even had a chance to discuss other thorny issues, like potential tax increases on the wealthy.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have had many, many meetings with the leaders, literally, starting in the fall on a regular basis,\u201d Hochul told reporters Monday. \u201cThere is certainly a lot of communication, a lot of give and take, a lot of conversations going on, which I think is really important to the process.\u201d<\/p>\n Hochul has become known for budgets that go weeks past the April 1 deadline, and they\u2019ve only gotten tardier. The budget was one week late in 2022, 32 days late in 2023, 20 days past the deadline in 2024 and a whopping 38 days late last year \u2013 pushing negotiations into May.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a hallmark of Hochul\u2019s strategy to wear down lawmakers until they concede to her spending priorities. But that hasn\u2019t seemed to frustrate legislative leaders this session \u2013 or at least, not yet. State Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris said the longer negotiation timeline has become business as usual.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s built into people\u2019s expectations,\u201d Gianaris told reporters on Tuesday. \u201cIt\u2019s just seeing reality. We\u2019re not imminently closing the budget, so why hold everyone here unnecessarily?\u201d<\/p>\n None of the issues holding the minimum $263 billion spending plan up are closed down, Gianaris said, and leaders still haven\u2019t talked table targets. On the floor, Assembly Ways and Means Committee Chair J. Gary Pretlow said some discussions have taken place about a costly push for Tier 6 public pension changes, but he declined to give more details to his inquiring Republican colleagues.<\/p>\n Gianaris expects the final budget will include a deal to counter President Donald Trump\u2019s mass deportation agenda, a change from the original plan to pass standalone immigration measures.<\/p>\n \u201cA late budget is not ideal, but as long as you\u2019re moving the extenders and it\u2019s not too long-lasting, it\u2019s very manageable,\u201d Gianaris said.<\/p>\n While late budgets and slower negotiations have become customary, week-long extenders have not. Typically, the legislation necessary to pay state employees on time only pushes the deadline to adopt a spending plan out a few days due to a series of staggered pay periods for different public workers. But the holidays of Passover, which ends Thursday, and Easter encouraged the governor to set the first two extenders on week-long timelines.\u00a0<\/p>\n Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon said the longer delay allows members to properly observe the holidays. \u201cI think it shows that the governor is sensitive to people\u2019s religious observances,\u201d she said, adding she had little information about how talks were progressing.<\/p>\n Assembly Member Al Stirpe said the one-week extender is kinder to lawmakers and gives leaders adequate time to have productive discussions.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe they\u2019re trying to be nice to us,\u201d he said. \u201cWe can leave and go back to our districts and actually do something. The worst part is having to just stand around and wait for somebody to say \u2018Well, there\u2019s an agreement.\u2019 Us just spending money being here without any chance of accomplishing anything is really not very smart. So in that respect, it\u2019s a good thing we\u2019re doing it this way.\u201d<\/p>\n The three people in a room haven\u2019t reached an agreement on changes to the state\u2019s climate law \u2013 a pivotal debate as Hochul and all members of the Legislature are up for election this fall. Stirpe said some members of his conference have expressed a willingness to find a compromise with the governor on the release of cap-and-invest rules or other mandatory regulations the state must issue to hit its climate goals. A judge ruled last year that Hochul needed to release the regulations by February after environmental advocates sued Hochul for blowing past the 2024 deadline. But her administration appealed the ruling, prolonging the legal battle.<\/p>\n