ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday said she and legislative leaders have reached a tentative agreement for a $229 billion budget for 2023-24 that would give judges more discretion in setting bail and exempt suburban counties from an increase in the MTA payroll tax.

“A conceptual agreement has been reached,” Hochul said at a news conference Thursday night.

“This is a blueprint for the future of New York,” she said. “What is important is not a race to a deadline but a race to results.”

Hochul won a change in the state’s bail law after lawmakers agreed to remove a provision telling judges to use the “least restrictive means” to ensure defendants will return to court when deciding whether bail should be applied.

WHAT TO KNOW

• Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a tentative agreement for a $229 billion state budget that would provide judges with more discretion under the 2019 law that aimed to end cash bail for most nonviolent offenses.
• Under the pact, Long Islanders won’t be subject to an increase in the payroll tax that Hochul had proposed to help the MTA. Also absent from the deal is Hochul’s proposed “housing compact” that aimed to increase the amount of affordable housing.
• The agreement calls for the minimum wage to rise to $17 an hour in phases until 2026, from the current $15. Cigarette taxes would rise by $1 to $5.35 a pack to further discourage smoking.

The change will apply only to bail-eligible offenses.

The budget will also provide $40 million each for public...

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