It appears the New York state budget will be late this year, but the question is, how late? Governor Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers have yet to reach final agreement on a number of issues.
The legislature is proposing $7 billion in new taxes on the wealthy and corporations, and $4 billion more in school aid. Cuomo’s tax and education aid plans are more modest. The governor’s budget director, Robert Mujica, appearing on Spectrum’s New York 1, was asked whether the spending plan will be late this year.
He said only “we’re going to get it done."
Senator Jeremey Cooney, of Rochester, is among those pressing for a $3.5 billion fund in the budget to pay for employment and other services to undocumented New Yorkers who lost their jobs during the pandemic. He says he’d rather have the right budget a few days late than one that is on time.
“If it means that hundreds and thousands of excluded workers have resources to put food on the table, I’m OK with that,” Cooney said.
Lawmakers are also trying to piece together how to fit in to the budget the billions of dollars in new funding from the federal stimulus package.