Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday that she had reached a general agreement on a $268 billion state budget, even as Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said there was no budget deal. The budget was already more than a month overdue when Hochul made the announcement, the latest in a string of drawn-out negotiations that have left the state waiting for a final answer.
“We got it done,” Hochul said, adding that she was “not going to mince words” because “the negotiations were not easy.” She said the talks included auto insurance reform, immigration, changes to the state’s climate law, pension changes and a new tax on ritzy second homes in New York City. Hochul also said leaders still needed four or five more days to release additional information about the pied-à-terre tax.
Heastie pushed back immediately. “There’s no budget deal,” he said, adding that it was “very premature for the governor to make this announcement.” He said he still had no details on the pied-à-terre tax and was “not conferencing anything else until I know what the financial picture is.”
The budget fight is the latest in Hochul’s tenure and comes after Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said Tuesday that leaders had conceptual agreements on four major policy proposals from the governor and were nearing the beginning of the end. Hochul said Wednesday evening that she had told Heastie she was comfortable saying they were close to a deal, but Thursday’s dueling statements showed how much work remained before the package could be put to bed.
Hochul’s counsel also confirmed previous reporting that she and legislative leaders reached an agreement for a 2028 deadline to implement the regulations needed to meet New York’s climate goals. Even so, Heastie said, “We don't even have final language on, like, the CLCPA.” The clash leaves the state with a partial deal on paper, but the hardest pieces — including the climate law and the pied-à-terre tax — are still not fully finished.
