Senate Finance Committee Chair Liz Krueger and Assembly Ways and Means Committee Chair J. Gary Pretlow today announced the joint legislative hearing schedule on the State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2025-26 Executive Budget Proposal.

These hearings, each of which focuses on a programmatic area of the Executive Budget Proposal, are intended to provide the appropriate legislative committees with public input. The hearings will be available for viewing on the Senate and Assembly websites. The Legislative Channel (on cable systems throughout the state) also will carry the proceedings.

In accordance with the schedule, the hearings will commence on January 27 and conclude on February 27. The respective state agency or department heads will begin testimony each day, followed by witnesses who have requested to testify on that area of the budget. Due to time constraints related to provisions of the New York State Constitution concerning the approval of the state budget by April 1, only a limited number of witnesses can be accommodated at any given hearing. The committees will endeavor to permit as many interested parties to testify as possible, ensuring that a wide range of views are presented, and will attempt to avoid redundant testimony where possible.  

The agency and departmental portion of the hearings are provided for in Article 7, Section 3 of the Constitution and Article 2, Section 31 of the Legislative Law. The State Legislature is also soliciting public comment on the proposed budget pursuant to Article 2, Section 31-a of the Legislative Law.