Why New York’s State Budget Is Late Again — And What’s Holding Up a Deal

New York’s state budget is late again, and lawmakers approved a one-week budget extender Tuesday to keep the government operating while negotiations continue.

With legislators leaving Albany for the Passover and Easter holidays and not scheduled to reconvene until April 7, little progress is expected during the initial extension.

Major policy issues remain unresolved, including proposed changes to the state’s climate law, pension and prison reforms, and calls from some lawmakers to raise taxes on wealthy residents.

Jimmy Vielkind, who covers the state Capitol for WNYC and the New York Public News Network, said it is difficult to identify a single issue holding up the negotiations. With changes to the state’s climate law, pension reform, prison reform, calls to tax the wealthy, and more still being debated, Veilkind says it’s probably ‘all of the above.’

“From what we understand from Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, nothing major has been resolved,” said Vielkind. “There has been some discussion on these contentious issues, but no real resolution.”

Stewart-Cousins told reporters Tuesday that negotiations have not yet advanced from policy discussions to talks about specific spending levels within the proposed $263 billion budget.

“I understand from people who are close to the talks that Governor Kathy Hochul is still kind of holding firm and hasn’t given much ground in the negotiations,” Vielkind said. “Which is frustrating to some of the lawmakers who are Democrats and control both the State Assembly and the Senate.”

Vielkind said Hochul has not shown much urgency about meeting the April 1 budget deadline. Lawmakers, however, face different pressures.

State legislators do not receive paychecks when the budget deadline passes without an agreement — a provision that does not apply to the governor. And although 2026 is an election year for Hochul and all 213 members of the Legislature, political fallout from a late budget would likely fall more heavily on lawmakers.

“She knows that many of those legislators are facing competitive party primaries, which will happen in June,” Vielkind said. “She, after Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado dropped his challenge, does not have a primary opponent. She wants to be seen as fighting for these issues. She’s looking towards November and a general election race against Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.”

Vielkind said most people in Albany expect the budget delay to last weeks, with negotiations potentially stretching into early May.

Image: New York State Capitol in Albany. (Wknight94 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)).