ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York lawmakers began voting Monday on a $229 billion state budget due a month ago that would raise the minimum wage, crack down on illicit pot shops and ban gas stoves and furnaces in new buildings.
Negotiations among Gov. Kathy Hochul and her fellow Democrats in control of the Legislature dragged on past the April 1 budget deadline, largely because of disagreements over changes to the bail law and other policy proposals included in the spending plan.
Floor debates on some budget bills began Monday. State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said she expected voting to be wrapped up Tuesday for a budget she said contains “significant wins” for New Yorkers.
“I would have liked to have done this sooner. I think we would all agree to that,” Cousins told reporters before voting began. “This has been a very policy-laden budget and a lot of the policies had to parsed through.”
Hochul was able to push through a change to the bail law that will eliminate the standard that requires judges to prescribe the “least restrictive” means to ensure defendants return to court.
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Hochul said judges needed the extra discretion. Some liberal lawmakers argued that it would undercut the sweeping bail reforms approved in 2019 and result in more people with low incomes and people of color in pretrial detention.
Here are some other policy provisions that will be included in the budget, according to state officials.
— The minimum wage would be raised to $17...
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