Extra, Extra! A ban on newsies among budget's surprises
Final Edition: There's finally some white smoke on New York's long-delayed budget deal after the final bills were printed overnight.
Members began the lengthy process of approving these bills today. The Senate is likely to wrap up sometime after sunset but before midnight. The Assembly has yet to decide whether it'll pull a marathon all-nighter that wraps up around daybreak.
And as members were voting, they were trying to make sense of everything buried in the 4,351-page spending plan. That included a couple of quirky things that even they were unaware of — such as an end to the law that lets kids deliver newspapers.
New York generally prohibits anybody younger than 14 from holding a job. There were a few occupations subject to looser regulations, such as caddying, babysitting and selling or delivering newspapers. A general modernization of child labor law in the budget deleted this last exemption — meaning paper routes will no longer be an option for bicycle-riding middle schoolers.
The language marks a formal death for a form of media consumption that has evolved far beyond the days of soot-covered lads hawking the New York World from street corners. In fact, no papers in New York still use youthful carriers. 'As soon as newspapers started to switch from afternoon delivery to morning delivery, it became too dangerous to have kids out there on bikes,' said the New York News Publishers Association's Diane Kennedy.
The bills printed overnight also include language that sets up a $10 million legal defense fund for state officials to draw on if they're investigated by the Trump administration.
Existing law lets officeholders be reimbursed by the state for their defense if they're acquitted and if the charges are at least tangentially tied to their office-holding duties. The new language pays this money before a verdict is reached. And it will create the assumption that all investigations are due to an official's actions if that official has previously investigated or charged somebody like President Donald Trump.
All of that seems tailor-made for Attorney General Letitia James, whom the FBI has started to investigate following various accusations of mortgage fraud. Her lawyer has said the probe is 'political retribution,' and she's planning to fund her defense with a mix of state money and a private fund.
'We have seen a lot of really bizarre things in this state budget and others. This tops them all,' Republican state Sen. Jack Martins said.
'It's unusual and unseemly that there would be an allocation of money — almost a legal defense fund set up — without care or concern for whether the allegations are even correct,' Martins added. 'I certainly don't want to put taxpayers on the hook to pay for the legal expenses for someone who may very well be guilty of what they're being accused of.'
Other additions to the budget include a change in the timeline for the state's commission studying reparations. It was due to release its recommendations this July, though had asked for an additional six months. The budget gives them an additional 18 months — pushing the report's due date to January 2027 and removing the likelihood it'll emerge as a hot-button issue in next year's gubernatorial race. — Bill Mahoney
From the Capitol
CLEAN CAR SKIDS: An upstate Democrat wants to delay a mandate for car makers to sell more electric passenger vehicles, POLITICO Pro reports today.
Assemblymember John McDonald said he'd introduce a two-year delay of the regulations, citing consumer cost concerns and the potential loss of federal tax incentives.
'The reality is, if the federal government is truly going to eliminate the $7,500 rebate, that makes it very difficult for the average person to really make that decision on electric vehicles,' McDonald said. 'It doesn't mean we shouldn't continue to march toward that goal but instead of going 70 miles per hour we might need to go 45 for a bit, maybe take a couple years to still get to the same destination.'
Car dealers and automakers have been lobbying to delay the regulations, which follow California's clean car rules. The state-level program already faces an existential threat in Washington.
Electric vehicles currently make up less than 10 percent of new cars sold in New York. The regulations are aimed at boosting sales by requiring manufacturers to sell ever-increasing percentages of zero-emission vehicles. — Marie J. French
MEDICAID MOOLAH: Hochul and the Legislature have reached a deal on higher Medicaid reimbursement rates for hospitals and nursing homes, POLITICO Pro reports today.
It's all thanks to a tax on managed care organizations approved by the Biden administration at the end of last year, which is expected to net New York $3.7 billion over two years.
Those proceeds will support up to $425 million more in Medicaid funding for hospitals and $445 million more for nursing homes, according to the state's health and mental hygiene budget bill printed late Tuesday evening. Health clinics and assisted living facilities will also see small increases in Medicaid support.
If the controversial tax doesn't yield enough money for the increases, however, state officials will have the power to suspend or terminate them. — Maya Kaufman
STEFANIK SOUNDS OFF: Rep. Elise Stefanik is picking a fight with Hochul over her $254 billion state budget — and offering a window into what a gubernatorial race between the two women might look like next year.
The North Country Republican today released a long statement blasting the governor as state lawmakers finalize the spending plan, which is more than a month late. Stefanik knocked the budget's $13 billion spending increase and predicted it would 'exacerbate the mass exodus' from New York.
'The process behind this budget, the latest in 15 years, reeks of cronyism and incompetence. New Yorkers deserve a transparent, fiscally responsible budget that prioritizes our needs, not the desperate attempt to shore up a politically weakened and toxic governor who is desperately trying to shore up her abysmal poll numbers,' she said.
Adding to the 2026 preview, Stefanik pledged that 'change is coming. And we must work together to SAVE NEW YORK from Hochul's sheer incompetence and ineptitude.'
Hochul in a recent CNN interview said she was eager to welcome a challenge from a Trump ally like Stefanik. The state Democratic Committee in a statement to Playbook hit back at Stefanik and defended the governor.
'Elise Stefanik is freaking out about the wrong budget as she leads the charge on a plan that will rip away health care from millions of New Yorkers,' said spokesperson Addison Dick. 'Fortunately for her constituents, Stefanik's unhinged online rants won't change the fact that every New Yorker will benefit from Governor Hochul's budget that puts money back in their pockets, cuts taxes for the middle class, and makes our state safer.'
A Trump-aligned Republican opponent like Stefanik is potentially a dream candidate for Hochul. Next year is shaping up to be a backlash year for the sitting president, and New York Democrats will be eager to tie the top of the GOP ticket to Trump. Stefanik, a staunch White House ally, would easily fit that mold.
But Stefanik is a prodigious fundraiser who can leverage her political celebrity to quickly raise small-dollar donations in the state's new public campaign finance system. — Nick Reisman
TISH'S TOWN HALL: Democratic attorneys general who've banded together to confront Trump's agenda through legal challenges are set to host a town hall tonight led by New York's Letitia James.
The Westchester County forum is billed as an opportunity for New Yorkers to convey their grievances about Trump's policies.
James has made her name as a top Trump antagonist and successfully prosecuted him for fraud. She'll host tonight's 'impact hearing' as the FBI formally probes her real estate transactions for alleged fraud and as Republicans assail a proposed legal defense fund that could benefit her.
Similar town halls, also led by attorneys general, are planned around the country.
'Our offices have been fighting back to cut through the chaos and defend the rule of law and provide support for the vital services and supports our communities rely on,' James said in a statement. — Emily Ngo
FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
TRUMP PROOFING THE BUDGET: City Comptroller Brad Lander continued his warnings today about the potential impact Trump's federal cuts could have on the city budget.
'Mayor Adams' executive budget — by failing to provide any reserves against cuts — is just putting his head in the sand,' Lander said at a press conference.
Trump's proposed budget would take aim at around $10.5 billion in federal funds used for education, housing and healthcare that the city depends on to provide a safety net for New Yorkers, according to the comptroller.
Lander's warning comes days after Adams presented what he's calling the 'Best Budget Ever' — a proposal that critics contend does not take the threat posed by a possible recession and federal cuts seriously. Lander proposed adding $1 billion in the general reserves as a cash cushion.
Federal cuts have already affected New York City.
The city lost roughly $188 million in funds for migrant shelters, including the clawback of $80 million by the Trump administration — a matter that is being litigated in court, Lander said at his briefing.
Rental assistance vouchers for low-income New Yorkers — a key issue in the mayoral race Lander is running in — have already been cut, impacting 7,700 households.
Additionally, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and NYCHA could lose around $2 billion, forcing at least 200,000 households to relocate, Lander said.
'It is time to take threats that we're facing seriously, to budget for them and to do what's necessary to protect the numbers,' said Lander. — Cris Seda Chabrier
CUOMO AXES REDBOX: Andrew Cuomo's mayoral campaign took down the webpage it was apparently using to share messaging and strategy with a super PAC — after regulators warned the practice could be illegal.
After POLITICO reported on Cuomo's 'message for voters' page last week, the New York City Campaign Finance Board emailed all city campaigns reminding them of stricter rules the board passed last year against coordination between candidates and independent expenditure committees. The practice is known as 'redboxing' for the red line some candidates use to outline the messaging.
Even after mayoral candidate Zellnor Myrie filed a complaint Monday with the board alleging illegal coordination between Cuomo and the Fix the City super PAC formed to support him, the Democratic primary frontrunner's campaign denied wrongdoing, saying it was just generic messaging. But by Thursday morning, the page was gone from Cuomo's website.
Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi noted that other candidates, including mayoral opponent Scott Stringer, also had similar pages on their sites. 'While the message to voters was appropriate and in line with the rules, it became an unnecessary distraction,' he said.
Comptroller candidate Justin Brannan also deleted an apparent redbox page off his site Wednesday, POLITICO first reported, though his messaging was less extensive and specific than Cuomo's.
The ex-governor has struggled with the city's stringent campaign finance regulations, POLITICO reported Thursday. — Jeff Coltin
From City Hall
LET ME BE BRIEF: The city has signed onto a Supreme Court amicus brief in support of birthright citizenship.
In joining the effort, the Adams administration is arguing that President Donald Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants would cause all manner of ills in the five boroughs.
'The federal government's move to deny citizenship to children who were born in the United States would have detrimental effects on public safety, education rates, and health, while also harming our city's local economy and undermining who we are as a people,' spokesperson Liz Garcia said in a statement.
Specifically, the brief argues that infants will be denied federally funded health benefits. And as they grow older, they will be shut out of other health and education opportunities that will have spiraling effects on the economy and social fabric. — Joe Anuta
IN OTHER NEWS
— AN AMERICAN POPE: Robert Prevost, who was born in Chicago and has spent much of his clerical life in Peru, is the new pope, taking the papal name Leo XIV. (POLITICO)
— TARGET ON COLUMBIA PROTESTERS: Secretary of State Marco Rubio said his agency is scrutinizing demonstrators who occupied the Columbia University library. (POLITICO)
— THEN CAME TRUMP: New York City is expected to welcome 400,000 fewer tourists this year than it did in 2024. (The New York Times)
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Los Angeles Times
12 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
A Congolese refugee's 8-year struggle to reunite with her family in the U.S.
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New York Post
12 minutes ago
- New York Post
Trump will be present at Kennedy Center as honorees are announced today
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The Hill
12 minutes ago
- The Hill
Leland Vittert: Jan. 6 ‘has nothing to do' with crime in D.C.
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