A7695

The New York State Senate passed a $3.8 billion budget extender on a voice vote of 59-0, extending state government funding through Wednesday as negotiations on the full fiscal year budget remain stalled. Assembly Bill 7695, sponsored by Assemblymember Pretlow, represents a $1.8 billion increase over the previous week's extender and will fund payroll costs and payments to the Department of Health, Department of Labor, and Department of Veteran Affairs. During floor debate, Sen. John O'Mara (R) challenged Budget Committee Chair Liz Krueger (D) on the lack of progress toward a complete budget, noting that the state is spending approximately $900 million per day under extender authority with no table targets set and no scheduled conference committee meetings. O'Mara criticized the approach as poor governance, questioning whether budget priorities could be adjusted to reduce overall spending compared to the prior year. Sen. Krueger acknowledged that no progress has been made on the nine remaining budget bills and that the Governor has indicated she is in no rush to complete negotiations. The extender continues prior-year spending levels on a daily basis until a full budget is finalized.