Gov. Cuomo and top Democratic state lawmakers struck a deal
Wednesday that will taper back New York’s controversial criminal-justice
overhaul by expanding the list of crimes for which judges can set bail for
defendants.
“The important thing is: judges now have more discretion as
to holding dangerous people,” said one Democratic lawmaker who backed the
changes.
The proposal will allow judges to again set bail on a slew
of crimes, including vehicular manslaughter, making a terroristic threat and
for defendants rearrested on release.
Sources told The Post the state Senate is onboard, but
liberal Assembly lawmakers oppose the proposal. Speaker Carl Heastie publicly
backed last year’s bail overhaul for months, despite the controversy. But
sources told The Post that mounting political pressure from Cuomo and moderate
Democrats in the Senate — particularly the Long Island delegation — forced
Heastie’s hand.
Additionally, there will be more state funding to help
police departments and district attorneys comply with the state’s new discovery
rules that require evidence be turned over within two weeks of a defendant’s
arraignment.
The bail and discovery overhauls in last year’s budget were
long sought by criminal justice advocates, who complained New York’s
longstanding procedures allowed prosecutors to withhold evidence until just
days before trial and frequently left defendants in city jails for months —
sometimes more — awaiting trial.
Much remained unknown about the budget late Wednesday, hours
after Cuomo told reporters at the state Capitol there was “a conceptual
agreement.”
No price tag has been released and there were few details
available about the status of Cuomo’s proposed Medicaid overhaul, which
lawmakers and municipalities worry will cut hospitals funding and dump costs on
cities and counties.
However, lawmakers did confirm that Cuomo won the power to
make midyear adjustments to spending — a concession they chalked up to the
practicalities of the coronavirus pandemic, which has decimated tax revenues.
The legislative session opened in January with lawmakers
facing a $6 billion deficit — $4 billion of which was linked back to Medicaid,
the state’s health insurance program for the poor. That was before the
coronavirus outbreak torpedoed the state’s economy, causing tax revenues to
drop by as much as $15 billion. The twin crises could leave the state with a
budget hole in excess of $20 billion.
