Updates on immigration, climate, taxes, as State budget will be more than a month late

Albany, NY (WRGB) — An agreement on the FY2027 New York State Budget will be the latest in Governor Kathy Hochul’s tenure, as the New York State legislature passed its eighth budget extender on Wednesday.

The extender keeps the Government funded through Monday, May 4th, but at this time last year, the Governor had already announced at least a “conceptual” agreement.

As the legislature left for the weekend Wednesday, budget bills had yet to be printed, but there was an indication of progress in the discussion on a variety of issues.

Following reporting by City & State’s Kate Lisa and Rebecca Lewis, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie indicating that language to limit municipalities from entering in “informal” agreements with immigration enforcement was potentially off the table.

“I think the center of gravity might be in that direction now, but I don’t think it’s been final, final,” he told reporters.

The Governor is proposing the “Local Cops, Local Crimes Act”, which would limit formal agreements with ICE. Immigration advocates have pushed for bans on both formal, and informal agreements.

Heastie said there still is discussion on limiting ICE in certain locations, like near polling places. He also said another provision was off the table: law enforcement using “probable cause” when making an arrest and determining coordination with immigration enforcement.

That phrase was thrown out by Governor Kathy Hochul as she updated her immigration proposal in mid-April, which brought immediate uproar among advocates.

In terms of Climate, it appears lawmakers are closer to an agreement with the Governor after her proposal to change the CLCPA. While dates haven’t necessarily been determined, it appears the budget will include a change as to how emissions are measured. Instead of a 20-year global warming potential, emissions would be measured against a 100-year global warming potential. Environmentalists see this as a step back.

Meanwhile, Heastie also indicated the pied-à-terre proposal for New York City could be the only added tax for the State, and that he was open to adding that proposal as an opt-in beyond NYC. The Assembly and Senate both proposed increases on corporate tax rates, along with increases in taxes on individuals making $5 million or more in their initial One-House proposals in March. Governor Hochul has maintained resistance to those proposals.

Watch the video to learn more about the proposals to counteract rising utility costs.