Shortly before midnight Sunday, Cuomo said he is sending an emergency measure to both houses to keep the state government “fully functioning” until May 31.
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The budget is delayed in part by debate over raising the age of adult criminal responsibility to 18, which would leave North Carolina as the only state to automatically prosecute and imprison 16- and 17-year-olds as adults regardless of the crime.
The sides continue to work toward a final budget, and the 213-seat Legislature won’t get paid until there’s a final agreement.
Cuomo said the stopgap budget would give legislators time to resolve their differences while postponing the decision until after the release of the federal budget, which is expected to contain spending cuts that could drastically impact state finances. “We have resolved the financial issues customarily included in the state budget, but complex issues such as criminal justice reform (“Raise the Age”) and affordable housing should also be enacted”.
Like others, Lentol had held out hope for a deal Sunday night, but it was not to be.
Lawmakers had until Monday to pass a so-called budget extender to keep state government operating and keep the paychecks flowing for about 150,000 state workers.
Today, we find ourselves passing a budget extender because we are allowing a policy issue to stand in the way of putting forth a fiscally responsible budget plan that will benefit all New Yorkers.
“We’re still having full-blown discussions”, he said late Friday. Whenever it arrives, it will be by far the latest budget since Cuomo took office in 2011.
“This guy (Cuomo) should look in the mirror as to why this budget is late”, said Assemblywoman Steve McLaughlin, R-Troy.
In a written statement, Cuomo said an “ultraconservative Congress” is posing risks to the ny budget planning process and “on individuals’ rights and American values”.
State Sen. Thomas Croci, R-Long Island, said Cuomo and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie “care more about keeping teenage drug gang members, murderers and rapists out of jail than they do about funding public schools, providing tax relief for families and rebuilding the state’s infrastructure”.
State Sen. Cathy Young said the Senate is negotiating in good faith for results that are important to the people including jobs, tax relief and increased school aid.
“After hearing from local taxpayers and county leaders, Gov. Cuomo and New York Democrats are finally getting it”.
“We articulated a very sensible need to change bad state policy that is now hurting our senior homeowners the most”. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan) noted was about the size of the Old Testament. Many lawmakers are in no hurry to work with the governor, still holding him responsible for blocking their first legislative pay raise in almost 20 years last fall. “Any budget that leaves out Raise the Age is a non-starter”.
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The raise-the-age issue was one of the biggest obstacles toward a budget deal. I would not be surprised if in the coming day or so we pass a budget as all parties have shown willingness to reach a resolution and it might just be that we had to cross this threshold to move toward closure.
