On Monday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that an agreement had been reached with legislative leaders on the state’s 2026 budget. But representatives in the North Country point out they haven’t voted on anything yet.
The Democrat called a press conference to herald an agreement on the $254 billion plan, four weeks after it was originally due.
“I’m really proud to announce that we have reached a general agreement on the fiscal 2026 state-of-the-state budget. Together we designed a budget that will lift up all New Yorkers," Hochul said. "In the next few days, the legislature will be conferencing and voting on budget bills. And as is the case every year, some final details are still yet to be worked out through that process.”
Hochul said an agreement had been reached “on key priorities” and refers to it as a “conceptual agreement” that would allow legislators to begin passing bills to enact the priorities.
Assemblyman Matt Simpson, a Republican from the 114th District, says the governor’s announcement is less than clear cut.
“There wasn’t an agreement," asserted Simpson. "And you know it was kind of the chatter of the halls how premature this was. It’s a massive spending bill. The governor had announced that it was around $254 billion. So it’s nearly $20 billion more, it is $20 billion more than last year’s budget. And the details are a little murky right now.”
Republican Senator Dan Stec, who represents the 45 District, released a video Thursday berating Governor Hochul’s announcement.
“Contrary to what Governor Hochul’s announced there is no budget agreement. Legislative leaders have stated as such. This is the second straight year that the governor has announced a budget deal before the legislature has agreed to one," Stec says in his video. "With these premature proclamations the governor is being deceptive or is in over her head. Either way these announcements undercut the legislature’s role and add needless chaos to our process. The budget is a month late. Instead of grandstanding and false declarations let’s put in the work and just get this job done.”
Simpson notes that on Thursday morning the Assembly passed another budget extender through Wednesday.
“I think we all expected to have voted on the budget and been complete this week. But in fact, this morning we are voting on our tenth budget extender that goes through Wednesday of next week," Simpson reported. "I’m hopeful that there will be more than just a general consensus agreement, handshake deal. I’d like to see bills being dropped and available to review. And I’m hoping that by Monday we’re voting on a budget. I mean our school districts, our child care providers, there are so many people that are in limbo right now with a lot of uncertainty going forward without a budget passed.”
In a Spectrum News interview Thursday night, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said budget negotiations are almost done. Assemblyman D. Billy Jones is a Democrat from the 115th District.
“Our leader is still negotiating. There’s still a lot of fiscal things that are still on the table. And no, from what I know and what my conference knows there is not a deal that is done,' Jones said. "The governor made an announcement on Monday. But, you know, we’re still working on a budget and we do not have a budget. We do not have any bills in print and we certainly haven’t started voting yet. So hopefully, hopefully we will start printing bills and voting by next week.”
Governor Hochul noted the agreement includes a $1 billion tax cut for middle-and-low-income New Yorkers; nearly doubling the Child Tax Credit for eligible families; investing $2.2 billion to expand access to child care and $2 billion in inflation refunds to taxpayers. Agreed upon elements also include record state investments for gun violence prevention programs and amending the state’s discovery laws.
