Hochul stands firm on her policy-first approach to budget negotiations

The budget may be over a month late, but Gov. Kathy Hochul says the average New Yorker doesn’t particularly care about the finances in the spending plan. And she still isn’t ready to put finances first in the state budget, even as Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie stands by his pledge not to discuss policy until the three people in a room can agree on fiscal matters. 

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Hochul suggested the average New Yorker cares far more about her policy agenda. “New Yorkers are excited about the policy probably more than they are to know exactly how many dollars are going into this X program,” she said, while acknowledging that fiscal conversations could perhaps start sooner in the process. “They’re excited about what we’ve done in past years,” the governor added before rattling off past budgetary achievements, including “historic investments in not just childcare, but also in housing. (Notably, those both deal with dollar amounts.) 

Heastie expressed deep frustration with the budget process last week after Hochul announced a “general agreement” on the spending plan. “I’m never doing this again,” he told reporters on Thursday. Heastie later added that he didn’t care if the budget is months late now or in the future. “I’m not conferencing anything else until I know what the financial picture is,” he said. 

In her first direct remarks since Heastie’s comments, Hochul said reporters could “refer to the speaker’s comments 24 hours later” when asked about his promise not to discuss policy with his members until he got a clearer fiscal picture. While the speaker did assure reporters on Friday he did not have any personal issues with the governor, Heastie made no mention of backing down on his pledge about “never doing this again.”

Mike Whyland, a spokesperson for Heastie, confirmed to City & State on Monday that “of course” the speaker stands by that pledge.

Heastie has said in the past that the finances of the budget can get done fairly quickly, even if  the thorny policy issues prioritized by the governor push the spending plan past its deadline. Asked why finances couldn’t get done first, Hochul on Monday said New Yorkers trust that the money will be there. “People know we're going to take care of those, I don't think that is what they're worried about,” the governor said of programs like Medicaid and school funding. 

Hochul later added, “I don't think the general public thinks about whether or not we're going to end funding for education or Medicaid … They want to know what are you doing to help me pay my bills at the end of the month, and that is what I'm focused on delivering.” She pointed to the state law known as “save harmless,” which ensures school districts have at least as much school aid as the year before (a policy she tried to get rid of in the past).

For school districts that must – by law – vote on their own budget plans by next week, Hochul’s comments offered little reassurance short of more specifics. “The wild card is really about Foundation Aid, and the fact that we're getting $40 billion in total isn't illuminating,” Bob Lowry of the New York Association of School Superintendents told City & State. He said the difference between the proposed 1% increase in Foundation Aid for all school districts from the governor and the minimum 2% increase from the state Legislature are hugely consequential for local districts, which are forced to make plans for the next school year with limited data.

“I sympathize with what the speaker said,” Lowry added. “The issues that the governor has prioritized… aren't things that require appropriations.”

Lowry said that Hochul’s commitment to universal pre-K funding and Foundation Aid increases are welcome, but not enough at this point in May. “Those are all positives, but this is not ideal,” he said. “There's also the question of districts having to communicate, explain things to their voters, and that is complicated by not having an actual state budget.”