NY budget held up over policy, spending, mental health law
New York lawmakers are meeting Thursday to discuss last-minute policy and spending disagreements that have held up passage of the state budget nearly a week past an April 1 deadline, including the potential expansion of a law for people with mental illnesses.
Remaining issues that have stymied the budget’s passage range from the specifics of an environmental clean-up program to continued debate over criminal justice reforms, like a potential rollback of New York’s bail law. The Assembly and Senate planned to hold conferences starting around 10 a.m. Thursday.
Advocacy groups representing New Yorkers with mental illness chastised elected officials for hashing out a potential expansion of a court-ordered treatment law behind-the-scenes without a chance for public input.