Bail Reform ‘Dangerousness’ Clause Holding Up NYS Budget: Lawmaker

 

New York lawmakers on Monday will likely pass an extension to keep the state running while negotiations over the budget continue, Assemblymember Latrice Walker told the PIX11 Morning News.

State legislators failed to agree on a budget by Friday’s deadline. Amid heated debates over bail reform, funding for a Buffalo Bills stadium and other critical issues, lawmakers chose to leave Albany early on Thursday and resume negotiations on Monday.

Walker told PIX11 News she does not expect a budget to be passed by the end of the day. Passing a stop-gap measure while lawmakers hammer out budget details will ensure that state employees receive their paychecks.

Walker said she’s on Day 14 of a hunger strike in protest over proposed changes to the state’s bail reform law, which were introduced by Gov. Kathy Hochul amid a spike in violent crimes in New York City. While some Democrats don’t want any changes made to the bail reform law, Republicans have called for it to be repealed.

Walker said lawmakers are in a stalemate over a clause that would allow judges to consider a person’s “dangerousness” when setting bail. Walker, who sponsored the state’s bail reform law, said she and other Democrats who want to keep the legislation unchanged have concerns that the algorithm typically used to determine “dangerousness” is discriminatory.

The assemblymember also said negotiations were ongoing with respect to child care funding, universal health care and universal pre-kindergarten. Meanwhile, a source familiar with budget negotiations told PIX11 News on Friday that alcohol to-go for restaurants and bars and a gas tax suspension were expected to be included in the final budget.

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