Good morning,
Passage of the State Budget has officially begun. As of this update, five budget bills have been released, three of which the State Senate passed last night and into this morning; the Public Protection & General Government bill, the Capital Projects bill, and the Revenue bill. The Assembly approved the Debt Service bill shortly around 10:30 last night and had hoped to pass more bills, but ended up adjourning just after midnight without acting on anything else.
That being said, it appears that there are a number of issues that remain outstanding, with Bail Reform being the biggest sticking point so far. Final language has also not been released on other high-profile issues like school aid and health care. The Senate is scheduled to reconvene at 12 PM, presumably to pass the Aid to Localities bill, which was released just before 6 this morning. The Assembly’s plan is less clear, as they will be reconvening at the call of the Speaker. However, we do expect the Assembly to reconvene today and act on the bills passed by the Senate last night. We then expect both Houses to act on more budget bills as they become available.
We will continue monitor the budget process and provide you with updates and information as the process proceeds and more budget bills are released.
If you have any questions or need any additional information, please feel free to contact us directly.