The state budget: What they're saying

Legislative leaders had a generally amicable response to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget presentation on Tuesday — for now.

“I like the fact that most of the time we are talking about the same things; we see the same issues as important,” Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins told reporters. “We need all those things – environment, housing, education, health care.”

But there will be plenty of room for speedbumps as lawmakers begin to go over the details that will be made public in the coming hours.

Hochul’s plan to “right-size” healthcare spending is the type of proposal that tends to attract multimillion dollar campaigns in opposition, and legislators are unlikely to embrace new housing plans that come without added tenant protections.

Education might wind up being one of the main sticking points, as it usually is.

Hochul wants to end a policy that guarantees funding increases to school districts, no matter how wealthy. Notably, that comes at one of the first times in modern state history in which the state Senate’s majority isn’t dependent on members from Long Island, thanks to a poor Democratic showing there in recent elections.

Sen. Jack Martins, a Republican who represents northwestern Nassau County, said he’s opposed to “disenfranchising certain districts for others. Every child has a right to a fair share of education funding.”

Hochul also wants to use the budget to extend Mayor Eric Adams’ control of New York City schools for four years. Legislators blocked that when she proposed it as a budget item in 2022, dealing with it later in the year.

“You all know how I feel about policy in the budget,” Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said when asked about mayoral control on Tuesday. The Assembly has long been