New York Withholds Pay From 210 Lawmakers as State Budget Delay Tops 7 Weeks
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 25
New York Withholds Pay From 210 Lawmakers as State Budget Delay Tops 7 Weeks
2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 25
Seven weeks after the April 1 deadline, New York’s 60 senators and 150 Assembly members still have not been paid because the state budget remains unfinished.
Four pay periods have already been missed, turning the budget impasse into a personal cash crunch for lawmakers despite their $142,000 annual salaries.
Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher said she has deferred student loan payments and borrowed from family for rent, while other legislators have discussed borrowing against pensions and stretching a $200 travel per diem.
If lawmakers approve a budget this week, it would mark New York’s latest state budget in nearly two decades, underscoring how unusually prolonged the stalemate has become.
Amid a payless budget crisis, why is a 26% salary hike for New York lawmakers being proposed?
When lawmakers' salaries are withheld, does it speed up budget deals or just create more political gridlock?