ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - The Latest on the New York state budget (all times local):
8:35 p.m.
State budget negotiations have collapsed after members of the state Senate left Albany.
Republican Senate Leader John Flanagan said he will call his members back when and if there is a deal with Assembly Democrats and Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The budget was due by Saturday. Lawmakers on Monday passed a two-month extension of the old budget to ensure the vital functions of government continue.
Just moments before the Senate left members of the Assembly announced they would stay in the hopes of striking a deal.
Lawmakers won’t get paid until they pass a budget. The Legislature is scheduled to return to Albany in late April.
The breakdown in talks is a defeat for top lawmakers and Cuomo, who has long criticized late budgets as a sign of government dysfunction.
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7:35 p.m.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he’ll keep negotiating on a budget as long as lawmakers stay in Albany.
The Democrat briefed reporters Wednesday night on the status of talks on the budget, now five days late.
Cuomo says disagreements remain over an affordable housing tax credit for New York City developers and a proposal to end a policy of automatically prosecuting and incarcerating 16- and 17-year-old offenders as adults.
Members of the Senate and Assembly said earlier Wednesday they hoped to strike a deal on the $152 billion spending plan this week. Lawmakers won’t get paid until they pass the budget, which was due by Saturday.
Earlier this week, they authorized a two-month budget extension that Cuomo says will keep government functioning if lawmakers can’t reach a deal soon.
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2:43 p.m.
State lawmakers are lurching toward a final budget vote in Albany.
The state Assembly began voting on the first of several budget bills Wednesday, following the first votes in the Senate a day earlier.
The pace has slowed as lawmakers await the details of school funding increases and a Democratic proposal to end the state’s practice of automatically prosecuting and incarcerating 16- and 17-year-old offenders in adult court.
As of Wednesday afternoon it appeared unlikely the Legislature could give final approval to the $152 billion budget before Thursday at the earliest.
The spending plan is also expected to include increased college tuition assistance, $2.5 billion for upgrades to the state’s water infrastructure and the expansion of ride-hailing services upstate.
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12:09 p.m.
The New York state Assembly will take up the first cluster of long-awaited budget bills with hopes of approving a spending plan before lawmakers are scheduled to leave Albany on break.
Assembly members are expected to begin voting Wednesday on the $152 billion spending plan that includes increased college tuition assistance, more money for schools, upgrades for the state’s water infrastructure and the expansion of ride-hailing services upstate.
The state Senate passed the first six bills late Tuesday night after lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo resolved a stalemate that forced them to blow past a Saturday budget deadline.
The Senate is expected to wrap up its debate Wednesday with the consideration of a contentious revenue bill that would raise the age of adult criminal responsibility from 16 to 18.
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