Photo courtesy of NYS Senate Media Services
By Julie Marette, Hinman Straub
The New York State Legislature has now adopted, and the Governor has signed four short term budget extenders, covering the three weeks that have passed since the April 1st budget deadline. The current extender will fund payroll and government operations through Monday April 24th. At that time an additional extender or a budget will need to be adopted to continue meeting state payroll and other obligations.
Negotiations continue to be held up by several big-ticket items, including bail reform, housing and charter schools. Financial targets for spending beyond the Executive Budget have not been set.
Legislators have now been released to return to their districts for the weekend. However, many legislators will also be participating in local observances of Eid al-Fitr - marking the end of Ramadan, which could make it difficult for the conferences to discuss proposals, should they materialize over the weekend. At this time, it is anticipated that another extender rather than a final budget will be considered Monday.