The Legislature will return Monday morning to the state Capitol to try to pass a budget this week after not coming close to meeting the March 31 deadline for an on-time deal. But before they negotiate in earnest again, they’ll have some housekeeping matters to address: passing a budget extender by noon so 83,000 state employees can get paid, Comptroller Tom DiNapoli warned Friday. This would also be the payroll cycle for lawmakers, who earn $142,000 a year, the highest in the nation, but the 213 of them do not get paid until a budget is signed, sealed and delivered. Officials familiar with the negotiations said legislative leaders and Gov. Kathy Hochul are largely in agreement to go along with Hochul’s bail law change, which would end the “least restrictive” measure used by judges to set bail. The change would allow judges to set bail in more cases, particularly violent ones, as a way to fight recidivism. Legislative leaders are expected to brief Democratic members on the potential bail deal Monday. “We have been working hard because my priorities have been clear from the beginning,” Hochul told reporters Saturday at the governor’s mansion during the annual Easter Egg Roll. “I'm going to make sure that we have bail laws that give the judges the discretion they should have. It's simply clarifying law that has added to confusion.” Other issues being negotiated appear to be in their infancy since bail took up most of the oxygen in the room, Speaker Carl Heastie said last week. Next up will be perhaps an even more complicated deal: finding a way to spur new housing in the suburbs and the outer boroughs to increase supply, lower demand and thus make New York a more affordable place to live. But Hochul wants to make it a mandate for municipalities while lawmakers want it to be opt-in, plus add in some other housing proposals, like “good cause” legislation that would limit rent increases. “We cannot say we will leave this legislative session and this budget process without doing something substantial to increase the housing stock in this state. We have a severe shortage,” Hochul continued. “What does that mean? We have an affordability crisis.” Theoretically, the sides would hope to have a deal by the middle of the week and vote by week’s end. More likely? Probably a week or more away from budget votes. “I'll get it done. We'll get it done together,” she said. “And I'm more concerned about getting the right results instead of the timing of it.” IT’S MONDAY: Got tips, suggestions or thoughts? Let us know ... By email: agronewold@politico.com or on Twitter: @annagronewold WHERE’S KATHY? In Albany with no public schedule as budget talks continue. WHERE’S ERIC? In New York City delivering remarks at a new electric vehicle charging hub in Brooklyn before visiting a senior center in the borough. In the evening he’ll deliver remarks at the Metropolitan Opera Gala before delivering remarks in Staten Island as part of his five-borough Ramadan tour. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Remember everybody, this is called an egg roll, not an egg launch!” — Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday at the annual Easter Egg Roll at the Albany executive mansion (h/t Jay Root)
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