Guess when Albany will finally pass the budget and win a beach towel

It’s time for City & State’s annual budget poll, which – much like the actual state budget – is a bit late this year.

The budget is now nine days overdue, and there’s no little reason to expect it will be finalized any time soon. Gov. Kathy Hochul has promised to keep lawmakers in Albany for as long as it takes to ensure her top policy priorities – including changes to the discovery law and a mask ban – make it into the budget.

Since taking office in late 2021, Hochul has never delivered a budget by the April 1 deadline. In 2022, the budget was nine days late. Last year, it was 20 days late. And in 2023, it wasn’t finalized until May.

How late do you think the budget will be this year? City & State wants to hear from you!

The person whose guess is closest to the exact time that the final budget bill is passed will win their very own “City & State NY” beach towel, which retails for $57 on our merch site.  (It goes well with the bath mat we offered last year and the shower curtain we offered the year before that.)

All guesses must be submitted by 11:59 pm on Monday, April 14.

Just use the form below to submit your best guess for when the Legislature will officially finish passing all ten budget bills. (If you can't view the submission form below, you can also click here to submit a guess.)