By Mary Alice Miller
The New York State budget was due on April 1 but, like in recent years, it is late. The issue is not money. State legislators decided the fiscal aspect of the budget despite uncertainty over whether the Trump administration will withhold federal funding to the state.
“For the fourth year in a row, the New York State budget is late,” said Assemblywoman Stefani Zinerman. “The delay isn’t about the numbers, it is about policy proposals from Governor Kathy Hochul that threaten to reverse hard-fought progress on justice and civil liberties.”
“The State Budget was due last week, and while we have not yet reached a final agreement, negotiations are continuing,” said State Senator Zellnor Myrie. “I am actively engaged in discussions with our leadership, my colleagues, and the governor on issues of deep importance to our community.”
This year, four policy issues are holding up the finalization of the budget: discovery reform, mask mandate, cellphone ban in schools, and involuntary commitment.
A bell-to-bell cell phone ban to create distraction-free schools seems to be a done deal, pending some minor tweaking.
Costing $13 million to secure phones while students attend class, Zinerman said, “This isn’t the right investment. I believe school districts – not the state – should determine their own phone policies. Most already have symbolic or functional plans in place. We do not need a costly, one-size-fits-all mandate.”
Hochul proposed the mask ban in the wake of several high-profile crimes committed by people wearing masks, which impeded the identification of the perpetrators.
Zinerman does not agree. “Masks protect public health, not threaten public safety. In a time of ongoing respiratory viruses and pollution, banning masks is both shortsighted and harmful,” Zinerman said. “Even worse, it will disproportionately target young men of color wearing ‘sheisties’ – while those intent on destruction will act with or without a mask. Let’s focus on real solutions, not fear-based policies.”
Some of us remember notorious mental institutions like Willowbrook. Others among us remember when President Ronald Reagan enacted a policy of closing mass mental institutions, promising to replace them with community-based housing that never appeared.
New York’s solution was Kendra’s Law, which mandated outpatient psychiatric treatment for people with mental illness who committed violent crimes. But Riker’s Island has become New York’s largest mental institution, with 21% of the population having serious mental illness that deems them unfit to stand trial.
Considering the increasing presence of mentally ill people on the streets and subways, many of whom have been involved in serious violent crimes, New York is proposing to amend its mental hygiene law to expand the criteria for involuntary commitment.
Current involuntary commitment law requires a psychiatrist to certify that a person suffers from a mental illness that is “likely to result in serious harm to themselves or others.” The governor’s proposal would expand that definition to include people who are at a “substantial risk of physical harm” due to the inability to “provide for their own essential needs as, such as food, clothing, medical care, safety, or shelter.”
The New York State Assembly and Senate and civil liberties groups oppose the change.
“I have deep concerns. People with mental health challenges need care – not criminalization or forced institutionalization without support, dignity, or due process,” said Zinerman. “With proper screening, diagnosis, and a care plan, we should be able to keep someone in the hospital if they pose a danger to themselves or others. But this must be done with compassion, safeguards, and a commitment to healing – not punishment. Let’s invest in more mental health beds and professional training to make that possible.”
The biggest roadblock to resolving this year’s budget is discovery reform.
In response to decades of complaints from defense counsels and legal aid groups of not receiving discovery materials from prosecutors until the day before trial, if at all, New York State amended its discovery laws in 2019 to mandate that prosecutors turn over discovery within a certain time frame.
Those reforms have led to unintended consequences: cases getting dismissed on technicalities, i.e., minor mistakes or discovery not being submitted to the defense in a timely manner.
Gov. Hochul seems to have made this issue her hill to die on. Hochul has proposed requiring prosecutors to provide the defense with all “relevant” evidence instead of all “related” evidence and permitting consequences less severe than dismissal for minor or inadvertent discovery errors. Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg are advocating for Hochul’s proposal.
Members of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Caucus strongly oppose the governor’s proposal, arguing that it would effectively reverse wholesale the 2019 reforms. Instead, the Caucus prefers codifying a court decision related to the discovery statute.
“I reject efforts to weaken discovery laws,” said Zinerman. “The reforms we passed gave people a fairer shot in court – particularly our youth and low-income defendants. Reversing that would erode justice, not improve it. We can’t let this budget become a backdoor for injustice.”
Zinerman added, “We must be responsible with taxpayer dollars and responsive to the needs of our communities. Let’s pass a budget rooted in justice, equity, and local empowerment – not overreach.”
“I am not optimistic that there will be a budget deal this week. There are significant disagreements over discovery, a proposed mask ban, a bell-to-bell cell phone ban in schools, and involuntary commitment,” said Assemblywoman Latrice Walker.
She continued, “Policy disagreements often bring budget talks to a standstill. That happened a couple of years ago over the issue of bail reform. Unfortunately, here we are again. Some of my colleagues have joked about how nice the summers are in Albany, but I don’t suspect it will take that long. We have to take care of the people’s business.”
