Legislature Announces Joint Budget Hearing Schedule

ALBANY - Senate Finance Committee Chair Liz Krueger and Assembly Ways and Means Committee Chair Helene E. Weinstein today announced the Joint Legislative Hearing Schedule on the 2021-22 Executive Budget Proposal.

These hearings, each of which focuses on a programmatic area, are intended to provide the appropriate legislative committees with public input on the Executive Budget Proposal. In the interest of public health and safety, the hearings will be conducted virtually using web-based video conferencing. 

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 Tuesday, January 26, and conclude on Tuesday, February 23, 2021. 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.

Requests to testify must be made by submitting a Hearing Request Form no later than the close of business 48 hours prior to the respective hearing. The Hearing Request Form can also be found on both the Senate and Assembly websites at www.nysenate.gov and www.nyassembly.gov, respectively. Witnesses should be prepared to submit their written testimony when they request to testify or soon thereafter.

Witnesses scheduled by the committees to testify are required to send a copy of their written testimony via email no later than 48 hours in advance of the scheduled commencement of the hearing to both financechair@nysenate.gov and wamchair@nyassembly.gov. No one will be permitted to testify unless testimony is emailed to the committees accordingly. Once submitted, no modifications of the submitted testimony will be accepted. Please take note that these requirements will be rigidly enforced, and failure to timely submit written testimony will result in exclusion from the final witness list. Witnesses also must indicate in the subject field of the email containing their written testimony which hearing their testimony relates to. Witnesses are strongly encouraged to summarize their key points in their oral testimony. Witnesses must limit comments to no more than three minutes.

Due to time constraints related to provisions of the New York State Constitution concerning the approval of the state budget by April 1st, only a limited number of witnesses can be accommodated at any given hearing. The committees will endeavor to permit as many people to testify as possible, ensuring that a wide range of views are presented, and will attempt to avoid redundant testimony where possible. As a result, only one witness will be permitted to testify on behalf of any organization per hearing. However, any party may still provide written testimony to the committees at the above email addresses, at any time no later than close of business on the day of the hearing.

The agency and the 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 32-a of the Legislative Law.

Note: Click here to view Hearing Schedule