She’s in for the long haul.
Gov. Kathy Hochul is willing to hold up the state’s spending plan “as long as it takes” to get her proposals on discovery and involuntary commitment passed in the face of stiff opposition, her budget chief said Monday.
“Her principles out of this budget are steadfast and there are things that she just can’t compromise on,” state Budget Director Blake Washington said.
“We’ll take as long as it takes to deliver.”
Washington’s comments to reporters signaled that Hochul could be gearing up to fight lawmakers long past Tuesday’s budget deadline — a not-uncommon occurrence in Albany.
Last year’s state budget was only finalized on April 20.
And Hochul has held up the state budget over public safety policy before.
In 2023, the spending plan was delayed until May as Hochul pushed for incremental changes meant to roll back parts of New York’s bail laws that were signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo before the coronavirus pandemic.
The delays are still a far cry from some of Albany’s eras of peak dysfunction, which saw spending plans punted to the summer and fall before receiving final approvals.
This year, lawmakers are scheduled to skip town for a two-week break coinciding with Passover beginning April 11.
They’ll go without pay until the entire budget is passed.
Hochul and lawmakers also haven’t ruled out returning to Albany in a special session later this year — a prospect raised by the likelihood of cuts to state cash being handed down from Washington, DC.
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