Despite what Hochul says, New Yorkers do care the budget is late

Speaking to reporters during the second week of April, Gov. Kathy Hochul suggested that New Yorkers don’t care if the budget is late. At the time, it was a little over a week past the April 1 deadline to pass a new spending plan. Lawmakers have now passed the seventh budget extender, as the budget is more than three weeks late. 

A new poll from Siena college suggests that average New York voters are in fact worried about the fact that the budget has not yet passed. Luckily for Hochul, though, many also indicated they’re chill with her holding it up over her non-fiscal policy priorities. 

On April 10, Hochul said that New Yorkers outside the state capital “aren't watching their clocks and their calendars” when it comes to the budget. “I'm not concerned about process, I'm concerned about results,” the governor said as she defended her fourth late budget in a row. It’s how state leaders have often defended late budgets in recent years – outside of the politically plugged in, most people care more about a good budget than one that passes on time. 

The new poll from Siena College suggests that isn’t necessarily the case. A vast majority – a whopping 72% – of voters surveyed from April 14 through April 16 said they were concerned about the fact that the spending plan had not yet passed. Among that, 31% said they were very concerned about the delay. And only 2% said they had no opinion on the matter. Hochul may have had a point that many New Yorkers are not paying close attention as only half said they knew that leaders had blown past the legal April 1 deadline for the budget. But once informed, they certainly indicated they cared. 

Still, the poll bolstered Hochul’s assertion that voters want a good budget more than an one that’s on time. Of the four non-fiscal policy priorities the governor has fought strongly, at least a plurality of voters said they agreed with Hochul holding up the budget to ensure they passed. A 61% majority of voters polled said they supported her bid to ban cellphones at schools. Of those, a plurality of 48% said Hochul was right to delay the budget over it. 

On discovery, a plurality of 43% of New Yorkers surveyed said they supported Hochul’s pitch to “clarify” the law governing evidence sharing in criminal trials. Of those, a majority 55% said that the governor should be delaying the budget to make sure lawmakers approve the changes. When it comes to expanding the state’s involuntary commitment laws, a plurality of 45% voters agreed with the proposal as well as agreeing with Hochul on holding the budget to include it. 

The only exception is Hochul’s late attempt to include a measure that would make it a crime to hide your identity with a mask while intimidating someone. Although a strong majority support the proposal, a slight plurality said that the governor should not delay the budget over it. And of the three, it is the policy that Hochul has seemed to publicly push for the least. Speaking to reporters over the weekend, she even suggested that the measure may get addressed during the legislative session outside the budget. The governor has made no similar concessions about her other three priorities. 

Although the poll shows that New Yorkers do care about a late budget, a spokesperson for Hochul still viewed the numbers as vindication for her position. “The numbers are clear: not only do New Yorkers support Governor Hochul’s agenda – they also agree it’s worth holding up the budget to fix our discovery laws, expand mental health care and create distraction-free schools,” said spokesperson Avi Small.