NY Lawmakers Push Budget Deadline Over Climate, Tax Hikes (1)

Democrats in the New York state Senate and Assembly approved a funding bill granting government payroll a week-long extension as they negotiate with Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) over climate goals and taxes.

Discussions between Hochul and legislative leaders over the weekend failed to resolve outstanding policy differences ahead of the April 1 deadline for New York’s state budget, Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie said Monday.

The budget stopgap gives lawmakers one week to continue weighing issues such as Hochul’s push to weaken the state’s climate law by delaying the timeline New York has to meet emissions targets. Democrats have also criticized Hochul’s pitch to cap non-economic damages awarded in auto accidents, depending on who bears fault.

In return, lawmakers are pressuring the governor to consider tax increases on corporations, which Hochul has previously resisted.

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said Democrats were still pushing for corporate taxes, but said she didn’t know which was most likely to advance. Leaders haven’t had discussions about revenue yet, she added.

“They’re all viable,” Stewart-Cousins said of the various tax proposals that have been floated by lawmakers, including tax hikes on high earners.

The $1 billion funding bill means state government employees and legislative staffers won’t see interruptions to their paychecks. Lawmakers won’t be paid until a final state budget is approved.

Late budgets have become routine in Albany. Hochul held up last year’s agreement over criminal justice issues, forcing lawmakers to debate the state spending plan into early May.

This year, delays may be complicated by the midterm elections. Hochul and all 213 members of the state legislature are up for reelection, and an unduly late budget would cut into the time lawmakers spend campaigning for their own priorities.

Assemblymember John McDonald (D) said political urgency hasn’t yet crept into the budget process.

“I don’t know if people are terribly upset right now,” McDonald said. “Middle of May, there’s going to be pressure. It’s going to be different.”