Joseph Spector

Wires

The agreement would increase school aid by %241.1 billion

It would also install a 2-year property-tax freeze and delay implementation of Common Core testing

The legalization of medical marijuana is not included in the budget

Nor is a proposal providing college assistance to immigrants in the country illegally

ALBANY – An agreement on a state budget for the 2014-15 fiscal year remained elusive Friday evening as legislative leaders and Gov. Andrew Cuomo were still ironing out the final details.

The sides seems confident that a deal would be reached early in the day, but deliberations dragged on as they faced a midnight deadline to print bills and meet Monday's deadline for an on-time budget.

Legislative leaders emerged from private meetings with Cuomo with differing views on where negotiations stood.

"I think there is a deal. When the bills are introduced, then we know there's a deal," said Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos, R-Nassau County.

Sen. Jeff Klein, D-Bronx, who heads the Independent Democratic Conference, said it would be premature to say the budget is finished for the fiscal year that starts Tuesday.

"There's always little things in each of the important pieces – like property-tax relief, renter relief, charter schools, universal pre-K," Klein said. "But I think we are very, very close, and we're just trying to push our priorities."

There's plenty at stake in the final spending plan. The agreement is expected to increase school aid by $1.1 billion, add $340 million to fund pre-kindergarten statewide, enact property-tax reforms and delay implementation of new testing standards on students.

The sides were trying to get an on-time budget for the fourth year in a row — a key goal of Cuomo as he seeks re-election in November. Bills need to be voted on Monday.

Bills require a three-day waiting period for approval — unless the governor agrees to issue a message of necessity, which Cuomo has been leery of doing because the criticism it receives.

Some proposals are not going to be included in the budget. The legalization of medical marijuana and providing college assistance to immigrants in the country illegally won't be part of the deal. Neither will a proposal pushed by religious groups to give tax breaks to donors who contribute to private schools.

Cuomo, though, reached a compromise on his top priority: property-tax reform.

Cuomo has pressed for a two-year, property-tax freeze that would require local governments and schools to cap property taxes and, in year two, agree to cut the tax levy. In exchange, homeowners would get a rebate check that averages about $350 a year.

Lawmakers said the final budget will allow local governments and schools who have shared services in recent years to qualify for the tax rebate. Also, schools and local governments would have to develop a plan to share services, but it would not be tied to any specific cuts in the tax levy.

The changes would seek to address concerns by local officials and some lawmakers that the freeze would strain their budgets.

"We're doing in the context of how do we continue to support our school districts and our communities so they can balance their budgets, and how we don't have to impact property taxpayers," said Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle, D-Irondequoit, Monroe County.

The state budget will include $40 million to help local governments fix the many potholes that are left after a rough winter across New York.

The money will be added onto the highway funding formula, said Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Joseph Robach, R-Greece, Monroe County.

"We've heard from local governments; we've heard from local highway superintendents; and I've certainly heard from constituents who are concerned about the condition of roads," Robach said. "This will go to address that, and I'm glad we can deliver that money in this year's budget."

The $138 billion budget would also increase school aid by about $300 million more than Cuomo proposed Jan. 21. Cuomo proposed an increase of $807 million, or nearly 4 percent, to a total of about $22 billion.

Another $340 million would be designated for full-day, pre-kindergarten statewide. But $300 million of it would go to New York City to satisfy Mayor Bill de Blasio. He wanted to raise taxes on the rich to fund the program in the city, but Cuomo and Republicans were opposed.

Lawmakers and Cuomo were finishing budget language that would delay the use of Common Core-based test scores in grade-promotion decisions for students in grades 3 through 8.

The delay is expected to be for two years, but not impact the use of the tests on teacher evaluations. Unions wanted teachers to also be held harmless.

Rochester is expected to get an additional $6 million in state aid to close a $28 million budget gap for the city, while there was talk about a similar relief package for Yonkers, where the school district has as much as a $55 million budget gap.

Lawmakers said another change would be to allow an upstate manufacturing tax credit proposed by Cuomo to be expanded statewide. Some downstate lawmakers wanted their regions included in the budget deal.

Legislative leaders and Cuomo have suggested privately that public financing of campaigns start with a pilot project for the state comptroller's seat.

But good-government advocates are opposing the measure, saying they want a public-matching system of small donors for state legislative and statewide seats.

Dave Palmer, manager of the Fair Elections Campaign, ripped the comptroller-only proposal.

"So-called 'compromises' like the 'comptroller-only' option are just another excuse to satisfy the status quo and keep corruption as firmly entrenched tomorrow as it is today," he said.

JSPECTOR@Gannett.com

www.twitter.com/gannettalbany