Fast approaching two months past the April 1 state budget deadline and two weeks after Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a “general agreement” on major aspects of the spending package, state lawmakers finally began voting on budget bills in earnest this week.
Those bills included a controversial immigrant protection package designed to limit cooperation between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and state and local governments, changes to the Foundation Aid formula and how money is allocated to high-need areas, and a five-year delay of the state’s zero-emissions school bus mandate.
Votes on other high stakes issues which bogged down progress during weeks of tense negations including changes to the state’s 2019 climate law and more than $500 million in Tier 6 pension sweeteners are still to come.
Capital Tonight broke down what has been approved, and what has yet to come to the state Senate and Assembly floors with the full spending plan expected to be approved next week.
