ALBANY – Gov. Hochul announced on Thursday evening that the state reached a tentative $229 billion budget deal after nearly one month of delays.
“A conceptual agreement has been reached,” Hochul told reporters at a press conference at the Capitol.
“What was important is not a race to a deadline,” the governor said about the latest state budget in more than a decade.
The final spending deal will loosen limits on cash bail, allow 14 more charter schools to open in New York City along with an increase in the minimum wage and a litany of progressive policy priorities.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) released a statement on Thursday night that said discussions will continue but he hoped to pass the budget. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) did not immediately comment.
State lawmakers are expected to approve a final budget in the upcoming days following the announced agreement.
Hochul held out for weeks in hopes of securing concessions on cash bail laws, charter schools, and affordable housing. She received mixed results.
The embattled governor succeeded in securing an agreement to nix a state law for serious offenses requiring judges to impose the “least restrictive” conditions to ensure criminal defendants show up in court.
“There’s some horrific cases – splashed on the front pages of newspapers – where defense lawyers [told judges] ‘follow the least restrictive that means you have to let this person out and some of those cases literally shocked the conscious,” she said.
But Hochul fell short of getting Heastie and Stewart-Cousins to back other changes that criminal defenders warned would have effectively allowed judges to jail anyone who they believe threatens public safety.
Changes to discovery reform also did not get included in the final deal after New York City district attorneys on Thursday criticized a pending deal they said did not go far enough in addressing a deluge of dropped cases.
And Hochul had to compromise on her demand for New York City to pay $500 million more to the MTA, with the final spending plan including just $165 million from the city.
Mayor Eric Adams had pushed back at the original funding proposal as the city grapples with fiscal challenges following a tidal wave of migrants entering the city.
The state budget will partially address the migrant crisis with roughly $1 billion in new funding.
Major businesses in the five boroughs will see the payroll mobility tax nearly double from .34% to .6%, raising approximately $1 billion. The suburbs are exempted from the tax hike.
There is a glimmer of good news for straphangers, commuters and drivers in the budget. The deal includes $65 million in funding to reduce the expected 5.5% hike in fares and tolls to 4%.
The smaller increase means a MetroCard swipe or OMNY tap will cost $2.85 later this year instead of $2.90.
“The number works out,” Hochul said
“This asset is so critical to bringing back the largest city in the region. So we put forward the plan that we believe will generate sufficient revenues to make it operational for the next few years. “
Each borough will also get a free bus line over the next two years as part of a pilot program.
The minimum wage will get boosted downstate to $16 per house next year with 50-cent increases until it reaches $17 in 2027.
Albany Democrats reached an agreement to effectively ban gas stoves in new buildings in the future by blocking methane hook-ups to new, small, buildings beginning in 2025 and larger structures by 2028.
A final budget follows months of political setbacks for Hochul following her November win in the gubernatorial election.
She signed legislation on New Year’s Eve making fellow Democrats the highest-paid legislators in the country without seemingly asking for anything in return.
Weeks later, state Senate Democrats made her the first governor in state history to have a judicial pick voted down.
And the budget process was hardly kinder to Hochul.
She sparked a fierce backlash from the left after proposing shortly before the April 1 deadline that New York weakens its climate goals in order to cut projected increases in energy costs.
Hochul swiftly abandoned that proposal and her housing push as budget talks continued.
Legislative insiders criticized the governor who at times micromanaged staffers, moved goal posts and needlessly held up talks, reports said.
Hochul dismissed the months of political mishaps and criticism when asked by a reporter on Thursday.
“I will never shy away from a fight – not always gonna win,” Hochul said.
“The state requires a leader not afraid to get knocked down as well because I always get back up.”
Hochul argued days ago that New Yorkers would care about the latest budget in more than a decade as long as key provisions like bail changes made it into a final agreement.
“I said I’m going to get the right budget, so New Yorkers want me fighting for bail. They want me fighting for affordability. They want me fighting for ways to help lift up their family circumstances,” Hochul said Tuesday.
“I don’t think New Yorkers or anybody outside this room will be focused on the length of time. They’ll be looking at the quality of my blueprint for leading this state,” she added.
