New York’s budget is more than 10 days late as Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers remain at odds over a range of thorny issues surrounding housing and Medicaid spending. But the disagreements have also masked some areas where there is less daylight between the governor and top Democrats in the state Assembly and Senate. Here is where things stand on some of the budget priorities where there appears to be an accord: Migrant funding: A plan to spend $2.4 billion on migrant aid has largely sailed through the budget negotiations. Two people familiar with the talks said the final budget agreement will include that level of spending to support migrant housing, legal aid and other resources. The money is short of what Mayor Eric Adams wanted; he called for the state to pick up half of the city’s migrant costs, which he has pegged at $12 billion. Still, Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar, an Adams ally in Albany, called the funding “an important step forward.” “Now, the state must do even more to lead on the migrant crisis, including providing additional funding and organization to manage the influx of asylum seekers,” she said. “This is not just a New York City issue, it is a state issue.” Adams’ office in a statement said it was grateful for the efforts state officials have provided so far, but added “no municipality should bear the brunt” of the crisis alone. Hochul was in Washington Wednesday, and she met with Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su for a discussion, in part, about making it easier for migrants to find work while in New York. Cannabis enforcement: Swapping a potency tax for cannabis products in exchange for an excise tax is expected to be in the final budget deal, state Sen. Jeremy Cooney told Playbook on Wednesday. Lawmakers and Hochul are also in agreement on an enforcement plan meant to shutter illegal weed businesses, as first reported by the Times Union. But Cooney believes the enforcement plan needs to be packaged with a change in how legal cannabis is taxed. The potency levy has hindered legal cannabis shops by making the product more expensive. An excise tax could even the playing field for legal shops that compete with the unlicensed marketplace. "It’s very clear to me the priority of the Legislature is fixing the enforcement issue, making sure we can padlock these illegal stores in a timely manner,” he said. "But let’s not also forget our responsibility as a legislature to opening up new legal dispensaries." Retail theft: Boosting penalties for assaulting a retail worker as Hochul proposed remains a heavy lift for Democratic lawmakers. But one lawmaker on Wednesday said “some version” of the measure, which increases the penalty for assaulting a retail worker from a misdemeanor to a felony, could end up in the final budget. The issue is due to be one of the last ones that lawmakers will cover before locking down a final budget deal. Lawmakers expect additional funding to aid law enforcement in addressing the issue will be included in a final agreement. “It’s really important that we send a message with the retail workers,” state Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, a Staten Island Democrat and a supporter of increasing the penalty, said. “We send a message that we support them, that their lives are valuable.” — Nick Reisman HAPPY THURSDAY: Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman. DO WE HAVE A BUDGET YET? No. WHERE’S KATHY? In Albany with no public schedule. WHERE’S ERIC? Delivering remarks at New York City Football Club’s rally in support of the Willets Point Transformation. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We believe that we need to take a shock-and-awe approach to the rat problem by throwing everything we have at it.” — City Council Member Shaun Abreu, to the New York Times, speaking about a bill to be introduced today on rodent birth control.
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