Demystifying New York’s State Budget Process

New York has unique budget procedures and understanding it can be difficult. Here is a primer to demystify the state’s budget process.

The New York budget kickoff happens at the beginning of the session when the governor delivers a budget address to the legislature. In the speech, the governor outlines the broad strokes of their fiscal agenda. There is no statutory requirement for the timing of the speech, but it usually happens in mid to late January (this year it was February 1). 

At any time within thirty days of submitting the executive budget and budget bills to the legislature, the governor may amend or supplement the financial plan or any of the bills. These changes to the executive's budget proposal are known as 30-day amendments. After this period, the governor must obtain approval from the legislature to make further amendments. Why would the governor offer a 30-day amendment? Reasons may include pressure from the legislature or new economic circumstances. 

By the end of February, each legislative chamber will offer its own version of the budget with "One House Amendments." These amendments represent the fiscal preferences of the majority caucus in each individual chamber. While Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) was in office, the One House Amendments didn't generally stray too far from the original executive proposals, but the legislature has been making more aggressively divergent changes in the last few cycles. 

One convenient aspect of the way New York drafts the budget bills is that each policy proposal gets its own bill section. If a policy is stripped out during the amendment process, then the now empty bill section will say, "Proposal Removed." This makes it easier to track what provisions are still a going concern.

The bills then go through the normal legislative process of hearings and floor debate. After both chambers have passed their versions, they will go to a conference committee to resolve any inter-chamber differences. The big decision, however, comes when the Senate President, the Speaker of the House, and the governor all gather behind closed doors to finalize negotiations. 

The final budget is due by March 31, the end of New York's fiscal year. While late budgets are relatively common in other states, New York has tended to pass its budgets on time. The budgets passed in 2021 and 2022, however, were both about nine days late due to conflicts between the executive and the legislature.