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We're one week away from the April 1st deadline for the New York State budget

when all the spending plans for the year and a whole lot more are set in a big negotiation

between Governor Hokel and the legislature, also Democratic Party controlled. And there's a lot

on the table this year, like a school cell phone

ban, a public mask ban, keeping the subway system repaired, not to mention the actual budget,

and how much federal funding is at risk under the new Trump administration. To talk about

where things stand and the chances of an on-time, April 1st budget, I'm joined by Jimmy

Veilkine, New York State Issues reporter for WNYC, who also writes

the substack notes from Jimmy newsletter.

Hey, Jimmy, welcome back to the show.

Hi, morning, Brian.

Let's go through what some of you've written, what some of what you've written are the main areas that they have to

hash out in issues. Starting with the most recent addition to the list, Governor Hokel's call for a

ban on masking in public. This is aimed at people breaking laws and avoiding identification by

wearing the masks in that context, even though others could wear

a mask for health or religious reasons.

But I guess the devil's in the details, how to precisely target the law's reach.

Are they leaving it up to the police to decide when speech during a protest becomes

threatening, for example?

We really don't know exactly what they're talking about.

...