A rite of Albany: NY lawmakers pass the budget, then line up for paychecks

New York State senators and assemblymembers received eight weeks of back pay after the state Legislature completed a $268.5 billion budget late Wednesday, nearly two months after the usual schedule. The delay meant 63 state senators and 150 assemblymembers went without regular paychecks for 57 days, the longest gap in 16 years. A 28-year-old state law requires lawmakers to temporarily forego pay when budgets are not timely, intended to encourage on-time spending plans. Budget creation is described as highly secretive, with negotiations largely handled privately by the governor and two legislative leaders while other lawmakers, lobbyists, and press seek details. Since 2021, five budgets under Gov. Kathy Hochul missed the April 1 deadline, with lawmakers frustrated by demands for agreement on legislative priorities before spending negotiations proceed.

"It was just about midnight, and dozens of state senators - Democrats and Republicans, newcomers and veterans, back benchers and leaders - inched their way forward to collect what was owed to them: eight weeks of back pay. This is a familiar scene at the Capitol, where late budgets force lawmakers to temporarily forego their pay. Well-dressed legislators, some giddy with anticipation, wait their turn to grab their taxpayer-funded paychecks and plug a hole in their bank accounts while a handful of reporters look on, snapping the occasional photo."

"This was the longest assemblymembers and state senators had gone without a paycheck in 16 years. Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature were nearly two months late in delivering the $268.5 billion state budget. That meant New York's 63 state senators and 150 assemblymembers didn't receive their regular paychecks for a full 57 days, due to a 28-year-old state law that's supposed to encourage - but rarely delivers - an on-time spending plan."

"The creation of the state budget is notoriously secretive. It is largely negotiated in private by the governor and two legislative leaders while rank-and-file lawmakers, lobbyists and the press scramble to learn any details they can. Since taking office in 2021, Hochul has overseen five budgets. All of them blew past the state's April 1 budget deadline, with lawmakers expressing frustration that Hochul demands agreement on her legislative priorities in the budget before even turning to government spending."

""We got paid!" state Sen. Jessica Ramos, a Queens Democrat, declared after her turn in line. "I can actually pay my mortgage now," said Sen. Gustavo Rivera, a Bronx Democrat. "I was going to have a problem in a couple days.""

Read at WRVO Public Media