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NYS Lawmakers Continue To Seek Deal With Budget 2 Days Late

ALBANY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The New York state budget was two days late Sunday, as lawmakers struggled to find agreement on education spending, charter schools and juvenile justice reform.

The Assembly and Senate were working Sunday in the hopes of striking a deal.

``We're still trying to get things done,'' Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-The Bronx, said after emerging from another closed-door meeting with Cuomo.

If they fail to reach agreement by Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has vowed to introduce legislation that would extend the current budget, a backup plan that would leave out popular proposals to increase college tuition aid or invest billions of dollars in the state's aging water infrastructure.

Under state, law legislative pay could be withheld as long as lawmakers fail to pass a budget, giving them another reason to strike a deal.

Alternatively, if lawmakers reject Cuomo's budget extender it could force a government shutdown. Many lawmakers still blame Cuomo for killing a proposed legislative pay hike last year -- which would have been the first in nearly 20 years -- which could be complicating the budget negotiations.

``We're not looking at that,'' Heastie said of the possibility of a shutdown.

One key sticking point remains a proposal known as ``raise the age'' that would end the state's practice of prosecuting and incarcerating 16- and 17-year-old offenders as adults. The change is a priority for Heastie and other Democrats, but it has raised concerns among Senate Republicans.

Lawmakers in North Carolina, the only other state where 16- and 17-year-old offenders are prosecuted as adults, are also considering legislation to raise the age.

Negotiations also focused on how to divide increased education funding and whether to increase the number of authorized charter schools.

Also on the table is the 421-A tax break for real estate developers who agree to make at least 20 percent of their new units affordable.

Negotiations dragged on Sunday evening, despite indications lawmakers had nearly reached a compromise two days ago, said Republican Sen. John DeFrancisco, of Syracuse.

``I'm numb, not optimistic,'' DeFrancisco said. ``I'm not pessimistic, I'm numb.''

The budget deal is likely to include $2 billion to $2.5 billion for water quality and upgrades to the state's aging water infrastructure, Republican Senate Leader John Flanagan said, as well as $163 million to make college tuition more affordable.

Cuomo introduced his $152 billion budget proposal in January. It keeps the status quo when it comes to taxes, adds $1 billion in new public education spending, includes expanded childcare tax credits and a new initiative making state college tuition free for students from families making $125,000 or less.

The governor first floated the idea of extending the current budget last week, citing the likelihood of cuts in federal funding for health care and other programs. He said delaying work on the budget for a few months, until after those federal cuts are laid out, could make it easier for the state to adjust.

``The federal budget comes out on May 21, and we will have more information at that time,'' Cuomo said in a statement Saturday.

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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