By: Jordan Baker

New York lawmakers will miss their budget deadline on Tuesday as negotiations stall over controversial discovery laws, NY Post reported. Governor Kathy Hochul has proposed reforms to the 2019 laws governing evidence-sharing in criminal trials, but resistance from fellow Democrats in the Assembly has brought talks to a grinding halt.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) made it clear last week that his conference opposes Hochul’s proposed changes as currently written. He urged the governor to revise the language, emphasizing that the disagreement is not over the principle of reform but the precise wording of the legislation.

“I’m not going to bring up discovery with members anymore,” Heastie told reporters Thursday. “We’ve talked about it conceptually, but I need to start talking to them with language.”

As NY Post reported, Hochul’s proposed changes—backed by all five New York City District Attorneys—aim to prevent criminal cases from being dismissed on technicalities. Since the 2019 law took effect, convictions in domestic violence cases have plunged from 31% to just 6%, according to state data.

With lawmakers at an impasse, the budget process has effectively frozen. “Things are kind of at a standstill,” Heastie admitted, blaming the governor’s focus on policy issues for stalling negotiations over the massive spending plan, which was due April 1.

“Nothing’s moving at this point,” he added.

Legislators are off Monday for the Eid holiday and are expected to pass temporary funding measures to cover state payroll. Last week, they approved a non-controversial portion of the budget to finance state debt. However, the bulk of the budget will likely not be passed until after April 1. Lawmakers are scheduled for a two-week recess beginning April 10, and their paychecks will be withheld until the budget is finalized.

A spokesperson for Hochul said the governor remains firm in her stance.

“Governor Hochul continues to stand firm on her key priorities as she negotiates in good faith with the Senate and Assembly to pass a budget that makes New York safer and more affordable,” the spokesperson told NY Post.

As NY Post reported, progressive (extreme, far left, Marxists) lawmakers have been leading the charge against Hochul’s proposed discovery law reforms, with support from advocacy groups such as the Kalief’s Law Coalition, Legal Aid, Citizen Action, and defense attorney organizations.

Despite the resistance, both Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Westchester) acknowledge that the law needs to be revised to prevent serious cases from being dismissed on procedural grounds.

“I don’t think there’s a philosophical difference,” Stewart-Cousins said. “Make sure that people get their day in court, that the evidence is properly presented, that cases that should be going forward actually go forward, and that people who have done the wrong thing are convicted, and victims feel that they’ve had a fair shot.”

Heastie has expressed frustration that Hochul’s policy priorities—including discovery reform, restricting students’ phone use in schools, expanding the ability to commit severely mentally ill individuals, and mask-wearing regulations—have overshadowed budget negotiations.

Hochul has proposed a $252 billion budget, which would increase operational spending by 11%, according to the Citizens Budget Commission. Meanwhile, other contentious issues remain unresolved, including changes to the school funding formula and how to raise taxes for the MTA’s $68 billion capital plan.

With no clear resolution in sight, NY Post reported that the budget battle is expected to drag on well past the April 1 deadline.