ALBANY, N.Y. (WBEN) State lawmakers are moving closer to a state budget
deal with a proposal to amend the state's bail laws and other issues.
Capitol reporter Jimmy Vielkind of the Wall Street Journal, told WBEN,
under a tentative agreement that was being considered late Tuesday,
judges would be allowed to set bail for a longer list of gun and hate crimes,
and it would easier to hold repeat offenders pending trial.
"Judges would also be able to set bail based on a number of criteria, including
the severity of the offense, and whether it caused serious harm to an individual or group," said Vielkind.
New York would become the largest jurisdiction to make changes to the
2019 bail law, which ended cash bail for most misdemeanors and nonviolent
felonies.
Concern over a new Bills stadium and a $600 million dollar state subsidy from the state appears to be softening. "I heard there were some contentious conversations about that," said Vielkind. "Western New York legislators spoke up and made the point that there have also been public subsidies for stadiums in New York City," he added.
Vielkind's sources say the stadium deal is going to be approved.
Alcohol-To-Go is on track for approval in the budget. The proposal would allow alcoholic drinks to-go with takeout orders, which became popular during the pandemic. "Restaurants say the program was a pandemic lifeline, good for business and received a positive response from consumers," said Vielkind.
Lawmakers are still finalizing the program, including whether a food order is required. It is expected to be part of the new budget.
There will also be significant funding for an expansion of publicly subsidized child care . An expansion of the earned income tax credit, and the total cost of the budget will increase from $216 billion dollars to something in the neighborhood of $220 billion dollars according to Vielkind.
Still up in the air, is what to do about the state gas tax. "The state levies a series of taxes on a gallon of gasoline. It's a total of about 33 cents. One person familiar with it says 8 cents or 16 cents might be coming off. The holiday may last for the remainder of the year."
But Vielkind said there is still disagreement about whether it would be a gas tax suspension or a rebate check. "There have been issues in other states, because of the way sales tax on gasoline is collected. In many cases a dealer will pre-pay the tax based on expected sales. In Connecticut, for example, the state put a gas tax holiday into place last Friday. The attorney general has already received 166 complaints saying that drivers are not seeing any relief at the pump."
The gas tax discussion is coming at a time when consumers are being squeezed with rising prices for gas and other grocery and household items. State governments across the country are flush with cash right now due to
federal aid, and here in New York, much higher than anticipated income tax collections.
Another highlight of the delayed budget is a proposal to give property tax rebate checks to homeowners in recognition of inflation. There were no additional details at press time.
