Local lawmakers react to budget confusion in Albany
"I'm very proud to announce that we've reached a general agreement for the fiscal year 2027 state budget," said Gov. Kathy Hochul during Thursday's conference.
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There was confusion in Albany on Thursday over whether there is or isn't a deal on the state budget, which was due over a month ago.
"I'm very proud to announce that we've reached a general agreement for the fiscal year 2027 state budget," said Gov. Kathy Hochul during Thursday's conference.
Hochul was touting that the state's $268 billion budget had been agreed upon.
She says the budget will include funding to expand childcare, lower auto rates for New Yorkers and $1 billion in energy rebates.
However, the state assembly speaker contradicted the governor's message.
"There's no budget deal. There's no deal," said Speaker Carl Heastie.
State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins also agreed that a budget had not yet been finalized.
"We are getting close, but there is certainly no budget deal yet," she said.
Hochul's staff clarified that she said it was a "general agreement," implying that it meant it had not been finalized.
"I was embarrassed today to leave the capital without having a budget done. That is completely unacceptable," said Assemblyman Matt Slater.
"Hopefully, we can nail these things down over the weekend, and we can begin voting on a budget next week," said state Sen. Pete Harckham.
Right now, school districts don't know exactly how much funding they will be getting from the state.
"School districts are going to have budget votes next week without a state budget in place. They don't even know how much money they're going to receive in state funding for school aid," said Slater.
"They need certainty, they need predictability and the sooner we can provide that, the better," said Harckham.
Harckham says that typically, funding for school districts increases each year. But the public will have to wait and see what the final numbers are.
The budget was due April 1. Slater says this is on track to be the latest state budget since 2010. While Harckham maintains that they're close to reaching a deal.
As of right now, it is not known when that will happen.
