Hochul's Climate Act case runs cold absent clarity

And the first state budget bill is poised to pass on Thursday.

Good afternoon — It’s Wednesday and Waffle Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• Lawmakers said they still haven’t seen language from Hochul’s office on her Climate Act amendments, putting negotiations at an impasse.

• Upstate public transportation agencies made a final push for more funding in this year’s state budget, warning of service interruptions as early as May without it.

• Hochul’s auto insurance proposals have a new set of supporters: disability rights groups and nonprofits who serve those individuals.

• Housing advocates are seeking funding in the budget to expand a housing assistance program for people with HIV and AIDS outside New York City.

• State Police were told not to arrest advocates for immigrant protections who blocked an entrance to the state Capitol Tuesday.

• The first of 10 bills that make up the state budget is expected to pass Thursday.

Names in today’s CapCon: Kathy Hochul, Jo Anne Simon, Liz Krueger, Raj Goyle, Pat Fahy, Steve Hawley

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Krueger with advocates and lawmakers at Wednesday’s rally (Will Waldron/Times Union)

🔥 Lawmakers aren’t budging on Hochul’s proposed Climate Act push

Some Democrats in the state Legislature have signaled a willingness to amend New York’s energy and emissions mandates at the request of Gov. Kathy Hochul.

But compared to those who oppose Hochul’s proposed amendments to those mandates, established by the Climate Leadership and Community and Protection Act of 2019, they might as well not exist.

Several of the lawmakers who oppose Hochul’s proposals rallied alongside hundreds of advocates at the state Capitol Wednesday to make their position clear. They did not beat around the bush.

“Nothing we have heard thus far from the governor’s office makes any damn sense,” said Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon, a Democrat from Brooklyn.