ALBANY — The State Legislature on Tuesday neared approval of the $229 billion state budget, which included new provisions for setting bail, banning natural gas heat in most new buildings and a landmark change to the minimum wage.
The Senate and Assembly started Tuesday to pass the last of nine massive budget bills, although the required hours of debate could further drag the process to approve a 2023-24 state budget into Wednesday. The budget was due at midnight March 31.
The legislature spent Tuesday afternoon into the evening debating and approving, mostly along party lines, the omnibus bill referred to as “the big ugly.” The massive bill has gotten the name because it contains many of the most contentious issues on which the entire budget agreement hinged. Debate continued into the night on the remainder of the budget bills.
The bills made public Tuesday revealed details of the biggest and most controversial issues in the budget. For example, Hochul had proposed changes to a 2019 progressive law that sought to end bail for most nonviolent suspects. The legislature had wanted the law so that defendants weren’t jailed for weeks or months before trial only because they couldn’t afford bail.
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