New York Budget Misses Deadline as Bail Law Overhaul Remains Sticking Point

 

Time is money has a different meaning when it comes to the New York budget.

Gov. Hochul and legislative leaders failed to finalize the state’s spending plan Thursday, blowing past a midnight deadline as a consensus on bail law overhauls remained elusive.

Lawmakers headed for the exits and did not expect to be back in the State Capitol until Monday despite the Democratic-led Senate and Assembly and Hochul administration being “close” on several key issues, according to Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers).

The stalemate over the spending measure was centered on Hochul’s 11th-hour pitch to include public safety proposals and a last-minute announcement that the state would toss $600 million to the Buffalo Bills for a new stadium.

“There are certainly a lot of things that we are weighing that were not in the original governor’s budget presentation,” Stewart-Cousins said. “That being said, we are working through them.”

While agreements were reached on several measures that would expand the number of bail-eligible crimes, some distance remained between the governor and lawmakers regarding tweaks to discovery statutes that force prosecutors to share evidence with defense attorneys.

All sides were essentially in agreement on a measure making repeat possession of an illegal firearm bail-able and another that would allow judges to set bail for the unlawful sale of a firearm to a minor on the first offense.

One of the biggest sticking points remains Hochul’s desire to allow judges to assess “dangerousness” when setting bail by considering a defendant’s criminal history and other factors.

New York is the only state without a so-called “dangerousness” standard, something Republicans and critics have railed against since Democrats approved major reforms, essentially doing away with cash bail for misdemeanors and non-violent felonies in 2019.

Under the current law, judges may only set bail to ensure someone returns to court for trial.

“We’re not introducing dangerousness clauses,” Stewart-Cousins said Thursday afternoon. “We have been very clear about why we did bail reform.”

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx), also a staunch defender of the 2019 reforms, met with members of his conference Wednesday night to discuss the outstanding issues as talks continued.

Stewart-Cousins said all three sides are near an agreement on several high-profile items, including allowing restaurants to sell to-go alcoholic drinks, fast-tracking downstate casino licenses and some form of a gas tax suspension or rebate.

Sources said an extension of a controversial tax abatement for real estate developers that Hochul has been seeking appeared off the table.

While talks continue through the weekend, Monday poses more of a hard deadline since, should certain parts of the budget not be approved by 4 p.m., state workers could likely see issues with paychecks and direct deposits.

A spending plan must be voted on by Monday afternoon “to avoid any issues with upcoming payrolls,” Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office warned.

Hochul could sign an extender bill and have to sign off on so-called “messages of necessity,” allowing lawmakers to vote on budget measures without waiting for them to “age” three days as is customary.

Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R-Pulaski) slammed Democrats for failing to reach a deal ahead of the fiscal deadline, calling it a “simple, straightforward requirement of state government.”

“Unfortunately, Gov. Hochul and her Democrat colleagues in the Legislature have proven they are unable to meet that very basic expectation, and as a result, the multi-billion dollar spending plan that impacts every facet of operations in New York is in limbo,” he added.

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