Gov. Cuomo and state lawmakers failed to reach agreement on key details of their $153 billion spending plan just hours before Saturday’s deadline to have a new budget in place.
A dispute over a criminal-justice issue — whether to treat to treat 16- and 17-year-olds accused of felony crimes as juveniles instead of adults — was a main impediment.
Democrats and Republicans could not agree on whether the teens should be treated as adults for certain serious crimes and if separate youth courts should be created to handle their cases. Sources said GOP lawmakers were trying to remove the issue from budget talks but Democrats refused to back down.
Legislative leaders are also still haggling over whether to raise the cap on the number of charter schools allowed in New York City and provide charters more financial assistance, as well as how much money to disburse to all public schools.
Government-watchdog groups slammed the secrecy.
“Albany is now guaranteed to give New Yorkers the worst of both worlds, with a late and rushed budget,” said Brandon Muir of Reclaim New York.
Cuomo said earlier in the week that the budget could be delayed because the state couldn’t project how much revenue it would receive from the federal government under President Trump.