On Monday lawmakers are expected to vote on a budget extender to keep the government and payments to state workers going in the midst of a missed budget deadline. The two main sticking points have been bail reform and housing. However, there has been some movement this weekend on these issues, and when a compromise is finally found, lawmakers will turn their attention to Medicaid, taxing the rich, and the minimum wage.
The minimum wage has been an interesting issue, with Governor Kathy Hochul wanting to index it to inflation right now, while the legislature has proposed raising the wage first and then indexing it.
Assemblyman Phil Steck is a co-sponsor of a bill that raises the wage first and believes there are proposed compromises in the budget. He has said that minimum wages will be different for upstate and downstate, which some people support because the cost of living is less. However, he also believes that not having a strong minimum wage upstate is dangerous for the upstate economy.
If lawmakers don’t vote by Wednesday, there likely won’t be a budget until after the Easter holiday.
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