Andrew Cuomo

With just a little over two weeks to go before the state budget is due, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s top budget officials say they have to revise their spending proposal, now that President Donald Trump has released a budget plan that they say could devastate New York’s health care system.

They’re pressuring the Legislature to rein in their spending proposals as well.

Budget talks are intensifying in Albany as the deadline nears, and they are revealing tensions and divides between Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the all-Democratic State Legislature.

Cuomo began the week with a list of items that he said he needs in the state budget in order for him to agree to it.

They include a property tax cap, criminal justice reforms and a congestion pricing plan for parts of Manhattan to help pay for fixing public transit.

With three weeks to go until the April 1 budget deadline, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is drawing some lines in the sand on items that he said must be in the spending plan, like a permanent property tax cap.

But Cuomo said a proposal to legalize the adult use of marijuana likely will not be finished in time.

The state Senate and Assembly are due to release their own versions of the state budget this week. They come as Gov. Andrew Cuomo is demanding that a number of unrelated provisions be included in the spending plan. Without them, he threatens, the budget could be late.

The governor’s budget director, Robert Mujica, listed in a statement the items that he said must be in the budget in order for Cuomo to agree to it. They include a congestion pricing plan in Manhattan to help pay to fix the subway system, and making the temporary property tax cap permanent.

The state comptroller has come out with revenue projections that will limit the ability to spend more money in the state budget. Under law, the governor and Legislature have to abide by those numbers — but that hasn’t stopped interest groups and some lawmakers from saying that they will increase spending.

There were some emotional moments Tuesday as lawmakers and supporters of a school funding measure rallied at the state Capitol in Albany to advocate for $4 billion they say has long been owed to them under an order by the state’s highest court.

Miriam Aristy-Farer began helping hold fundraisers for the elementary school in her Washington Heights neighborhood when her son was small, and she saw that the district lacked art and music teachers, and special assistance for children with autism.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his Democratic colleagues in the legislature are at odds over agreement on the amount of revenues New York has to spend on health care, education, and other items in the state budget, which is due in less than a month. The State Comptroller may have to step in and decide if there’s no agreement by the end of the day Tuesday.

Public transportation advocates in central New York are calling on state budget makers to put more money in this year’s spending plan for bus systems across upstate.

Centro, Syracuse’s bus company, has only had 2 percent increases the past few years from Albany. And even with a proposed 5 percent increase this year, transportation advocate Sharon Sherman said more is needed to properly serve the people who need to ride the bus. And that is no more apparent in Syracuse, a city with sky high poverty rates.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a new anti-gun violence measure into law Monday, at a ceremony attended by survivors of gun violence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The measure, approved by the Democratic-led Senate and Assembly earlier this month, creates what’s known as an "extreme risk" protection order. It permits law enforcement, family members and school officials to go to court to seek the confiscation of the guns in the home of an individual that is determined to be a potential risk to themselves or to others.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says changes to the federal tax code led to a growing state deficit and is causing some high-income earners to leave the state. But progressive groups, some Democratic state legislators and even some millionaires are pushing back against that assertion, saying there’s no hard evidence that any wealthy New Yorkers are leaving.

Advocates for increased funding of mental health housing programs rallied in Syracuse and across New York State Thursday. They said there has not been a substantial increase in funding for more than 10 years.

Sponsors of a bill to create a single payer health care system in New York offered a revised bill, but its future is uncertain. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state might not be able to afford it.

Assembly sponsor Richard Gottfried, who has championed the issue of single payer for several years, said the bill, known as the New York Health Act, has now been amended to include coverage for long term health care, including home health aides and nursing homes.

He said the addition, among other things, will benefit women, who lose income under the present system.

State Education Commissioner Mary Ellen Elia said she’s not pleased with Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to spend just half of the amount of new money on public schools that education experts in New York recommend. She spoke Wednesday at a joint legislative budget hearing at the state Capitol.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli delivered some bad news Monday — the state has a $2.3 billion budget deficit.

Cuomo blamed the decline on federal tax changes that he said penalizes blue states, but there are other factors at play, too.

Cuomo said they are sounding the alarm after reviewing the results of the January quarterly estimated tax payments. Cuomo said the collections are even “worse than anticipated” and “as serious as a heart attack.” 

DiNapoli said it’s the biggest hit to the state’s finances in some time.

Last week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other state officials arrived in the Village of Whitesboro to help evacuate homes and mitigate the damage caused by ice jam flooding. The CSX railroad bridge that sits low over the Sauquoit Creek was clogged with large chunks of ice and other debris, which sent water over its banks.

A feud has been growing between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and leaders of the Catholic Church over an abortion rights bill the governor signed last week. The governor has been fueling the flames of the disagreement.

The New York State Legislature built on the state’s 2013 gun control laws Tuesday, passing measures to extend the waiting period for background checks for some purchasers and to forbid teachers from bringing guns to school.

At a news conference before the measures were voted on, Senate Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said there have been 27 mass shootings in the U.S. already in 2019.

“Every day, it seems, we wake up to the headlines of another mass shooting, another horrific gun crime,” Stewart-Cousins said.

The New York State Legislature voted Tuesday to codify the abortion rights in the U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade into New York law, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed it into law immediately after the vote.  

There have been numerous reactions to many of the policy items in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s state budget. But how did the governor’s budgeting skills measure up? Two budget watchdog organizations are giving him mixed reviews.

The New York State Legislature has been more active during the first few days of the session than it has in many years.

On Monday, both houses of the Legislature got together and approved matching bills to expand voting in the state beyond just Election Day to 11 full days.

On Tuesday, they extended rights in employment and housing to transgender New Yorkers. The bills are now being sent to Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign or veto.

The New York State Legislature for the first time granted civil rights to transgender New Yorkers. And on a busy day at the State Capitol, Gov. Andrew Cuomo also released his $175 billion budget plan. 

The Democratic-led New York State Legislature is set for a big week.

Action is planned on Monday to implement early voting in the state, and on Tuesday to grant more civil rights to transgender New Yorkers. Gov. Andrew Cuomo also will release his budget proposal.

Now that Democrats control the New York State Senate and Assembly, party leaders and Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo have promised to push forward a progressive agenda. And the progressive groups that helped elect that majority say they are going to ensure that promise was more than just campaign rhetoric.