The Consequences Of Late Budgets For New Yorkers

For the first three full months of any given year, the leaders of the Empire State are generally locked into a long series of discussions in order to make sure the business of the people of New York is done and set for the start of the new fiscal year. In New York, the new year actually starts on April 1st, which is the start of the state's financial year and when the New York State Budget is due.

Without a passed, adopted, and signed New York State Budget, many things in New York grind to a halt. Just like what happens when the Federal government shuts down because Congress cannot agree on how the people's money should be spent, the same thing happens in the Empire State.

While year after year the state's leaders in Albany pledge to get the budget passed and on time, once again something has happened which should not happen; the state budget is late. Again.

Since The Year 2000, New York Has Had 18 Late State Budgets

What many would think would be easy to do, which is to pass an on-time budget when the same political party controls both houses of the Legislature and the Executive Offices, is in fact quite hard.

Since the start of the new century, nearly 70% of the budgets have been late. That includes the current state budget, which took more than a month of additional time to pass, which happened on May 8, 2025.

Those late budgets can wreak havoc on the everyday lives of New Yorkers and the people who are dedicated to serving them. Before a second budget extender bill was passed earlier in the day on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, nearly 200,000 Empire State employees received an email from New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli saying they may not get a paycheck this week.

KEEP READING: New York State’s Annual Budget Process Explained

According to City and State, along with Spectrum News, it seems the major issues that are delaying the budget are continued debate on the state's new climate change law, changes to state employee retirement benefits, and other issues like the state's insurance law and building regulations.