New York lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul agreed Monday to a 3-day temporary extension of state funding as an overhaul deal remains up in the air, but progress made on key issues.
Meanwhile, lawmakers and Hochul have made progress on making changes to New York's law that curtailed cash bail requirements for many criminal charges by jettisoning a proposal that would have ended the "least restrictive" standard for serious charges.
Instead, lawmakers and Hochul are nearing an agreement that would allow for judicial discretion to set bail in some felony criminal cases, a source familiar with the talks said on Monday morning. At the same time, language is being advanced that is meant to ensure a defendant returns to court.
For weeks, negotiations surrounding the bail law first approved in 2019 had held up a broader agreement for a spending plan, now more than two weeks late. Hochul had pressed for changes at the start of the year after an election season dominated by voter concers over crime and public safety.
Still, lawmakers and Hochul are yet to reach similar framework deals for a statewide housing plan as well as adopting new measures to curtail the effects of climate change.
Housing policy remains a similarly complicated set of provisions for Hochul and lawmakers to navigate: The governor wants to encourage the expansion of 800,000 new units of housing within the next 10 years.
She's attaching infrastructure funding for local governments to build out water and sewer projects, but also wants a mechanism that would override local zoning decisions for qualified projects that are blocked by municipalities.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins has signaled she prefers an approach that leans more toward incentives for expanding housing at the local level.
Comptroller Tom DiNapoli has told lawmakers they must have a temporary stopgap budget bill approved by Tuesday at noon to ensure there are no interruptions in state worker payroll.
Lawmakers have already approved two temporary spending provisions to keep the government funded while the talks continue. The measure approved Monday is the shortest timeframe for a stopgap bill this month.
Several officials on Monday were privately skeptical a broader budget deal can be reached by Thursday when the extension expires.