New York State Legislature

It has been more than a week since New York state lawmakers missed an April 1st deadline to reach an agreement on this year’s budget. Capital Region lawmakers say negotiations continue behind closed doors.

April 1st is the first day of New York’s fiscal year, meaning that it is the day when a new state budget should be in place. Yet April 1, 2025 will come and go, without a new state budget on the books.

While the Capitol continued to buzz about progress on budget deliberations, a state court decision garnered a lot of attention from lawmakers. The decision from a state Supreme Court judge in Suffolk County found a state law limiting the outside income of lawmakers constitutional. The law limits the amount of money that a lawmaker can make outside of his or her legislative salary to no more than $35,000 annually.

The nation’s annual “Sunshine Week” started this past weekend. “Sunshine Week” is the annual recognition of the need for government openness. The idea of drawing attention to public interest in transparency in government was first celebrated nationally in 2005.

New York lawmakers continue to move ahead on developing a state budget that is due to be in place by April 1st.

The second step in developing a state budget wrapped up last week with the Legislature holding its final hearings on the governor’s proposed fiscal plans (that was the first step). Lawmakers held four hearings with two big ones related to the state’s future economy: higher education and economic development.

Some SUNY and CUNY students say if funding for higher education is affected by federal spending cuts under the Trump administration, they hope the state will step in.

Some SUNY and CUNY students say if funding for higher education is affected by federal spending cuts under the Trump administration, they hope the state will step in.

State lawmakers continue to review Governor Hochul’s $252 billion proposed budget. This week’s big hearing focuses on health care – by far the largest chunk of state spending. According to the governor, New York is expected to spend over $100 billion of the $252 billion proposed budget on health care.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s $252 billion budget proposal includes measures to address the demand for energy efficiency driven by artificial intelligence and the preservation of natural resources. But some advocates are upset about the governor’s exclusion of language included in last year’s budget specifically referencing the NY HEAT Act — which stalled last session — that would eliminate the so-called “100-foot” rule and protect utility customers from bearing the cost of investments in fossil fuel infrastructure and the cap and invest program. WAMC's Samantha Simmons spoke with Rich Schrader, Director of New York Government Affairs at the Natural Resources Defense Council, who says it could set back the state’s clean energy goals.