ALBANY, N.Y. — With New York State lawmakers reaching agreement Thursday on a $220 billion state budget, you would expect most of the focus to be on how and where they intend to spend all that money.
That was not entirely the case.
As in previous years, the budget is laden with a raft of nonfiscal measures, many of them policies that might be more politically difficult to pass on their own.
Casinos in the New York City area? Check. Changing the state’s bail law? Done.
And even on some of the fiscal matters, the budget had populist overtones, with a new taxpayer-funded stadium for the Buffalo Bills and a suspension of some of the state’s taxes on gas at the pump.
Many details were still lacking, with lawmakers ironing out precise language for a package of budget bills they began voting on late Thursday. Here’s a breakdown of things you should know about the agreement.
New York City just moved closer to getting its first full-fledged casino.
The state had intended to wait until next year before beginning the process of awarding licenses for three new casinos downstate. Gov. Kathy Hochul wanted to move faster, and persuaded lawmakers to move up the timeline.
At some point this year, the state will open a competitive bidding process for the three licenses. Operators would have to pay the state a minimum of $500 million for each license, according to unreleased details obtained by The New York Times.
Under the deal, a six-member...
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