Speaker says Assembly is considering a return to look at tax hike options./

Lawmakers would also mull eviction moratorium

At the Capitol for the Electoral College vote, state Assemblyman Carl E. Heastie told reporters Monday that legislative leaders are considering returning to Albany before the year’s end to approve revenue-raisers.

“We are trying to see if we can come up with something that the two houses could agree upon,” Heastie said. “We want to do something that (addresses the) eviction moratorium and we have to see if we can come to agreement on possible revenues.”

Dozens of state lawmakers called on Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea StewartCousins last week to return legislators to Albany to pass bills that would raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers as well as provide financial relief and protections to residents as the coronavirus continues its second surge on the state.

Heastie said there are constitutional concerns over increasing income tax brackets, with attorneys advising legislators to approve adjustments before the New Year to ensure impacted taxpayers are properly notified and so the changes do not have to apply retroactively.

State Senate Majority Leader Andrew Stewart Cousins said they are working with the Assembly “to make sure whatever action we take helps to address the severity of the crisis at hand.”

New York faces a multibillion-dollar deficit this year alone, with an anticipated $62 billion budget hole through 2024, due to added costs from responding to COVID -19 and lost revenue from a pandemic-hobbled economy.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo recently acknowledged that without federal funds, New York will have to do a combination of cuts, tax increases and layoffs, but he has held off on making any budget decisions in hope of receiving that aid. Stimulus proposals currently on the table in Washington, D.C., include aid to state and local governments, but nothing has been finalized.

Cuomo said during a news briefing Monday that he wants to wait for the federal government. “You can’t divorce a tax increase from a budget action,” he said. “The problem with doing the budget now is that it will have a disruptive tax increase and disruptive cuts.”

The state has reduced spending by about $4 billion to address the deficit, including instituting a hiring freeze and deferred pay raises for some 80,000 employees. Cuomo, however, has made a number of hires in his office by claiming they ’re essential.

New York also froze state contracts and has withheld a portion of payments to contractors, the latter which has primarily hit social service organizations that provide supportive housing and programs for people with developmental disabilities; substance abuse treatment; and some localities that receive state aid.

Heastie emphasized that a return to session does not mean that he, or any other legislator, is dismissing the need for the federal government to intervene.

“I’ve said it a billion times: This is a national pandemic and this needs a national response from the national government,” Heastie said.