Borrello Believes Hochul's Announcement of State Budget Deal was Premature

While Governor Kathy Hochul announced a conceptual agreement on a state budget earlier this week, a local state lawmaker feels Hochul was premature in making that declaration, saying "the cake was not fully baked." WDOE News on Thursday reached out Senator George Borrello, who tells us that while deals have been reached on some major policy issues, there are still a lot of other issues that are not resolved...

George Borrello: process is lagging

The Sunset Bay Republican adds that it appears that much of what the Governor pushed for in the budget has been "watered down." An example he gave is her proposal to punish those who wear a mask while committing a crime...

George Borrello: mask punishment is watered down

Under the tentative agreement, that particular crime would be classified as a misdemeanor. Borrello says no action has been taken on any budget bills since Hochul's announcement. Lawmakers will be leaving Albany Thursday afternoon and return on Monday to continue finalizing the $254 billion spending plan.