Legislature moving toward passage of new state budget

ALBANY, N.Y. » The New York state budget appeared to be on track for passage Friday as a measure boosting sexual harassment protections moved through the Legislature as part of the $168 billion spending plan.

The Republican-led Senate approved legislation with provisions that provide new sexual harassment protections for all employees of state and local governments. The Democrat-controlled Assembly is expected to pass the measure, which has the backing of Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

“That’s a major victory for all New Yorkers,” said Sen. Catharine Young, ROlean, one of the authors of the sexual harassment provisions and the Senate’s budget chairwoman. “It has several provisions in it that are going to protect everyone across the board.”

Here are some of the final proposals and complications that emerged in the final hours of negotiations:

YESHIVAS The most contentious part of the budget was still pending heading into Friday evening after talks broke down hours earlier over a small number of unresolved issues.

Sen. Simcha Felder had demanded private Jewish schools be exempt from certain state curriculum standards, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx, said. Felder is a Brooklyn Democrat who votes with Republicans. His support is pivotal to GOP control of the Senate, giving him outsized influence in budget negotiations. He denied holding up the budget.

“I’m not Moses. I’m not Jesus,” he said. “I don’t have that kind of power.”

The issue appeared to be resolved when Felder left the Capitol by mid-afternoon so he could be home for the start of Passover.

LEGISLATIVE PAY Senate leaders said the Assembly had its own demands. Deputy Senate Majority Leader John DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse, said Democrats in the Assembly are insisting the budget contain a provision to create a legislative pay commission to consider a raise for lawmakers. Lawmakers now make a base salary of $79,500 and haven’t seen an increase since the late 1990s.

“There’s something in the budget that he desperately wants — a pay commission,” DeFrancisco said of Heastie. “He can make all the ultimatums he wants,” he said.