A rite of Albany: The line of NY lawmakers collecting paychecks after passing the budget

A $268.5 billion New York state budget was completed late Wednesday, nearly two months after the usual deadline. Dozens of state senators lined up at the Capitol to receive eight weeks of backpay after not receiving regular paychecks for 57 days, the longest gap in 16 years. The delay stemmed from a 28-year-old state law intended to encourage on-time spending plans, which rarely delivers results. Budget creation is described as highly secretive, with negotiations largely handled privately by the governor and two legislative leaders while other lawmakers, lobbyists, and reporters try to obtain details. Since taking office in 2021, Governor Kathy Hochul has overseen five budgets that all missed the April 1 deadline, with lawmakers frustrated by the process and timing of agreements on legislative priorities.

"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 backpay. 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."

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