Albany, N.Y. (WBEN) - It was no April Fools joke Friday when New York State lawmakers left Albany without passing a state budget by the April 1 deadline.
Governor Kathy Hochul has also been quiet over the weekend and now paychecks for thousands of state employees may be in jeopardy.
The New York State Comptroller's office has set a deadline of 4pm Monday for a temporary spending plan to be in place to cover payroll for tens of thousands of workers this week.
There appear to be numerous stumbling blocks to a budget agreement and center among them is the controversial bail reform measures on the table.
Hochul's attempt to stake out a middle ground on bail reform has provoked criticism from all points of the political spectrum.
"I think that's a sign that you're in the right place," she said of her plan in March. The proposal would continue to limit instances in which people would be required to post bail, but make more crimes eligible for detention and give judges more discretion to consider a defendant's criminal history.
New York changed its bail laws in response to public outcry over prisoners accused of minor crimes being held in jail for extended periods while awaiting trial because they couldn't afford to pay bail — a system where a person puts up cash as a guarantee that they will return to court.
The state's answer was to eliminate cash bail for many nonviolent offenses — a reform that frustrated some law enforcement officials who warned that people released back to the streets would commit new crimes.
The Buffalo Bills lease deal, announced by the governor, team owners and Erie County last week, is also the subject of some opposition, mainly from New York City area lawmakers.
Appearing on WBEN's Hardline Sunday, New York State Assemblyman Pat Burke said, "Obviously the budget should have already been passed, I think this is probably one of the things that's holding it up."
Burke too is conflicted over the Bills stadium deal, but is also disappointed in the opposition from lawmakers in the New York area who had not vocal opposition to expenditures for sports facilities in the downstate region.
Lawmakers and the governor will be back at work on a budget deal in Albany this week, and one measure Burke expects to be included in the spending plan is some sort of suspension of the state gas tax to help ease the cost burdens on New York residents.
"I think we will have a suspension of the gas tax. I'm fairly certain on that."
Stay tuned.
