ALBANY, N.Y. (WTEN) — Lawmakers are continuing to debate and hold their ground when it comes to this year’s state budget. With a fourth budget extender passed on Thursday, it seems New York may be in for a long negotiating period.
This week on Empire State Weekly, we speak with New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) senior policy advisor Blair Horner on what he’s been hearing and how he feels the budget negotiations are going. He told NEWS10’s John Gray that it’s been hard to gauge how far along the talks are due to the lack of public releases on progress.
“It’s like waiting for the Pope, you’re waiting for the white smoke to emerge out of the chimney,” Horner said. “They’re negotiating changes to fundamental laws like the climate law, without any language out, without any opportunity to weigh in. What I hear, which is all I can go by, they’re sort of picking up the pace.”
Also on Empire State Weekly, the executive vice president of the Medical Society of The State of New York talks about how the state is trying to mitigate the federal “Big Beautiful Bill” and it’s effect on Medicaid recipients in New York. We also talk to Jared Cook, senior counsel with Tully Rinckey, about the new state law barring employers from investigating credit scores of perspective hires.
