Updated at 3:25 p.m.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders appear to have reached an impasse in talks on the state budget, as the March 31 deadline looms.
State Senate leaders abruptly left a nearly two-hour, closed-door meeting with Cuomo, saying that unfortunately, they had nothing new to report.
“We are not there, we’ll get there, but we are not finalized,” said Senate GOP Leader John Flanagan.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie says Cuomo’s plan to require New York City to pay a higher share of Medicaid costs remains a sticking point.
“For us in the Assembly, what happens with Medicaid is still a very big issue,” Heastie said.
Cuomo said Tuesday that counties outside of New York City could be asked to help shoulder the $250 million that the governor wants to shift to New York City.
But later today, the governor said Medicaid was not the sticking point with lawmakers.
And then the New York State Association of Counties, which opposes Medicaid costs being shifted to counties, issued a statement saying:
"County leaders have been assured by the Governor that the final 2016-17 State Budget will not change the hard cap on local Medicaid costs, nor will it add additional costs to counties and county taxpayers."
Neither leader would say whether raising the minimum wage is even still in the budget plan. The governor and the leaders had been talking about how long take to phase in a $15 an hour rate, and whether there should be a lower top rate for upstate New York.
They also could not predict whether they will reach an agreement by Wednesday night in order to print bills and pass the spending plan on time.
