State Budget Agreement Reached

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The New York state budget is late.

Budget deliberations in the state Senate and Assembly blew past a midnight deadline and into the start of a new fiscal year Friday.

The Senate plans to work into the early morning hours to pass the $156 billion state budget proposal. Members of the Assembly, however, are expected to return later Friday morning for final votes.

On-time budgets have been seen as an indicator of government effectiveness in recent years, and have been a top priority for Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Last year's budget also was late, but only by a few hours.

The highlights of this year's budget are a modified version of Cuomo's proposal to gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, a middle-class tax cut and a program giving workers paid time off to care for a sick relative or new child.