After the state budget: Six priorities lawmakers have on deck

And Democrats rallied against research cuts from DOGE Wednesday.

Good afternoon — it’s Wednesday and Stop Food Waste Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• We’re all waiting for the state budget but we’ll have to wait a little longer.

• Here are six priorities lawmakers plan to push in the final five weeks of session after the spending plan is cleared.

• Democrats rallied against DOGE at the Capitol Wednesday, highlighting cuts to critical research funded by the federal government.

• What to expect at the Capitol Thursday, including another extender.

Names in today’s CapCon: Kathy Hochul, John Raskin, Peter Harckham, Monica Martinez, Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, Gustavo Rivera, Julia Salazar, Grace Lee, Alex Bores, Anna Kelles, John B. King Jr.

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(Jim Franco/Times Union)

✋ What’s on deck after the state budget in Albany?

We still don’t have any of the remaining nine budget bills to review and they’re not expected to start trickling out until Friday at the earliest.

That’s left a vacuum at the state Capitol that lobbyists have been eager to fill. Because the financial side of the budget is still open, there’s still time for them to represent their clients or work ahead on post-budget priorities.

If lawmakers finish voting on the state budget next week, there will only be five weeks remaining in the legislative session for them to consider other bills.

That’s not a ton of time and that has consequences. When Gov. Kathy Hochul paused congestion pricing in the final days of last year’s session, it sucked the oxygen out of the Capitol and left several bills to die that may have passed with more time.

But we already know several of the items that lawmakers plan to prioritize after this year’s budget is done. The question is whether they’ll have the votes — and the time — to get them across the finish line.

(Lori Van Buren/Times Union)

🗣️ Six post-budget priorities to watch at the Capitol

As we wait for budget bills, I thought you’d be interested in hearing about some of the bigger items that lawmakers say will be on their minds through June 12, the last scheduled session day.

1. The NY HEAT Act (S4158/A4870)