Guess when Albany will pass the budget and win a City & State blanket

The state budget is due by April 1, but the last few annual budgets have been late – sometimes very late.

Since taking office in late 2021, Gov. Kathy Hochul has never delivered an on-time budget. In 2022, the budget was nine days late. In 2024, it was 20 days late. And in both 2023 and 2025, it wasn’t finalized until May. The governor has the strongest leverage when the budget is running late, and she’s become adept at using it to push through reforms strongly opposed by lawmakers.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie recently said he expects to pass the budget by the deadline, but we’re skeptical. This year’s pitched budget battles over taxing the rich, reforming car insurance and weakening the state’s landmark climate law could easily delay a final budget for weeks.

When do you think this year’s state budget will be finalized? City & State wants to hear from you!

The person whose guess is closest to the exact time that the final budget bill is passed will win their very own “City & State NY” fleece blanket, which retails for $43 on our merch site. (It goes well with the beach towel we offered last year, the bath mat we offered in 2024 and the shower curtain we offered in 2023.)

All guesses must be submitted by 11:59 pm on Sunday, March 22.

Just use the form below to submit your best guess for when the Legislature will officially finish passing all ten budget bills. (If you can't view the submission form below, you can also click here to submit a guess.)