State budget not expected to pass this week, lawmakers say

Plus: The top lobbying firms of January and February, Hochul's poll numbers rise and more.

Good afternoon — it’s Tuesday, and Earth Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• The Legislature passed their seventh budget extender Tuesday, with an eighth expected Thursday as negotiations enter their final days.

• There’s now a stronger consensus of when lawmakers can expect to vote on budget bills … if discussions don’t blow up.

• Here are the top lobbying firms at the state Capitol for January and February.

• A new Siena Research Institute poll found a growing favorability rating for Hochul but a deep dive for Schumer.

• A new bill would ban entities that receive state funding from displaying or selling “symbols of hate,” including the Confederate flag.

Names in today’s CapCon: Chris Tague, J. Gary Pretlow, Michael Gianaris, Kathy Hochul, Jeremy Cooney, Michaelle Solages, Peter Harckham, John T. McDonald, Jamaal Bailey, Chuck Schumer, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cordell Cleare, Rachel May, Shelley Mayer

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The state budget was due April 1. We’re keeping you updated on negotiations around the spending plan in the meantime.

(Lori Van Buren/Times Union)

💰 State lawmakers don’t expect to pass a budget this week

“Can we expect white smoke from the Vatican first, or can we expect white smoke from the state Capitol first?,” Assemblyman Chris Tague asked on the floor of the Assembly on Tuesday.

“If I was an odds-maker, anything to do with gaming, I would go with the Vatican first,” Assembly Ways and Means Chair J. Gary Pretlow joked in response.

But I’m here to tell you that a new state budget is likely to come first. Let’s keep the white smoke out of the Capitol, though. It’s already burned once.

The Senate and Assembly approved a budget extender Tuesday that runs through Thursday, when they expect to pass another — the eighth of the budget season.

The extender included a round of funding owed to schools from the last state budget, which expired April 1. It also included language to transfer $13 million into the lockbox created through the congestion pricing program.

We still don’t have a state budget agreement for the new fiscal year. That being said, there’s now a strong consensus in the Legislature of when we will.