Statement on Gov. Hochul’s Announcement of Very Late FY 2027 Budget Deal

May 7, 2026
Deal on This Year’s Very Late Budget Continues Undemocratic Trend Towards Secrecy and Dominant Governor

The Legislature is not a coequal branch of government
 

Reinvent Albany has been asked by news media outlets to comment on Governor Hochul’s announcement that a budget deal has been reached. Much of the press attention will be on broad-strokes policy decisions and hot takes on who won and lost. 

Our take is that this budget continues Governor Hochul’s undemocratic trend of putting all the big policy decisions in the extremely secretive, Governor-dominated budget process. Far from joining hands to oppose the Governor’s dominance, the legislative leaders have joined her as junior partners: the “three people in a room” who know what is going on and have a say. 

By packing so many big and controversial policy items into her budget proposal, Hochul has cleverly made a late budget inevitable because large numbers of legislators are bound to balk. As long as the Governor does not pay a price with the public, late budgets increase her power and reduce the Legislature’s. All governors have done what Hochul is doing – unfortunately, the political price for a late budget seems to be decreasing. 

This year’s late budget will be about six weeks late, which means the “regular” legislative session will be about half as long as originally scheduled. This disempowers the average State senator or assemblymember who become even more dependent on the legislative leaders that control which bills are considered, can advance to approval, and possibly become law.

Because there are bill sponsors and a committee process (however imperfect) in the “regular” session, there are more people telling stakeholder groups and journalists what is going on, and there is relatively more transparency. We think more transparency, a more informed public, and an end to “three people in a room” would result in better decisions, an emphasis on achieving the greatest good for the greatest number, and a healthier democracy. 

Until we see actual budget language, we are not commenting on the various policy proposals highlighted in the Governor’s announcement. This said, our comments on the Governor’s original proposed budget and Senate and Assembly one-house budget bills are below. Typically, the final budget will closely resemble the Governor’s original budget. 

Reinvent Albany Budget Statements and Testimonies

Other Budget-Related Statements and Letters