Monday Headlines: Budget Deadline Cometh Edition

The state budget is due tomorrow at noon, and there are no signs that the state Legislature and Gov. Hochul will reach an agreement on her proposals in the near future.

The main sticking points are her auto insurance proposal, which is based on dubious assertions of cost savings from limiting crash victims’ legal rights, and reforming the State Environmental Quality Review Act, which has drawn concerns from environmentalists who say its attempt to speed up housing construction goes too far.

The proposal caps the environmental review length at two years for certain infrastructure projects on previously disturbed land and otherwise exempts projects from the entire process, which can drag on for years and is a regular source of lawsuits.

And the parts of the legislation that allow for sped up pedestrian and bike path construction were removed from the Assembly and state Senate’s budget rebuttals. The proposal was housing-centric in the first place, but that section’s scope is also being narrowed by lawmakers in negotiations.

On auto insurance, Hochul’s plan still has lawmakers confused about how it will save policyholders (which includes most of them) any money and how that is worth stripping rights from their constituents.

The governor’s Uber-backed plan is focused on making it easier to prosecute auto insurance fraud while making it more difficult to pursue pain and suffering damages for victims.

The utter lack of data from Hochul or insurance companies, save for fraud data that Streetsblog has shown to be so small in scale it doesn’t support the cost driver narrative, is making it difficult for lawmakers to negotiate the policy, even among themselves.

So if there is an impasse, where does that leave us?

New York has a schedule of budget extenders to keep state operations humming as negotiations continue. Lawmakers might not be getting paid while the budget is late, but they certainly aren’t going to stiff a legion of state workers come pay day.

More news:

Doctors and state lawmakers on Long Island are calling for tighter e-bike regulations as injuries rise. (Newsday)

Pay increases are on the table as the MTA and union representatives for LIRR workers head back to the negotiation table. (Newsday)

The MTA wants to teach more drivers how to use the wheelchair lifts on its express buses. (The City)

Cheers, New York. The Staten Island Ferry reopened its bar after a 7-year closure and pandemic delays. (The New York Times)

Streetsblog has reported on the danger unshoveled walkways pose for pedestrians. Yet New York City failed to fully pay an emergency shoveler after this year’s storms, and now he’s suing. (The New York Post)

Advocates rallied against widening the Cross Bronx Expressway on Friday ahead of an April 7 deadline for the state to pick a proposal. Streetsblog has previously reported that the state DOT attempted to stealthily widen the roadway while claiming they were just making repairs. (The Bronx Times)

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s support for self-determination may not extend to Staten Islander’s quest for independence. (Politico New York)

The DoorDash driver shot by the Chester town supervisor last year says he’s relieved justice was served, but is still haunted by the encounter. (Mid-Hudson News)

Democratic candidate and former Biden official Dylan Hewitt is dropping out of the race for the North Country’s 21st Congressional District. (NCPR)

A 7-year-old boy was hit and injured in an Albany crosswalk on Friday night. (The Times Union)

State Republicans, including Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, are taking aim at drivers whose first language isn’t English. (BTPM)