Morgan McKay is reporting for State of Politics the New York state Legislature has approved a 2020-21 state budget. The Senate debate April 2, on the budget bill lasted two minutes in a nearly empty chamber. “This nearly empty chamber it really is surreal,” Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said to only a handful of people present. “You know, actually for me its chilling. In many ways it’s upsetting, but it’s a testament to this great institution and the work that continues here.” Some of the big items in the budget: a $104 million increase in funding to school aid, but Foundation Aid funding was held flat. This means that there will be no increases to Foundation Aid in the 2020-21 school year. However, the most recent federal stimulus bill is providing around $1 billion to grade schools, which will help offset some of this loss. The budget allows for funding amounts to change based on the receipt of tax revenue. Medicaid spending will increase by 3 percent, or about $500 million. There are changes to the criminal justice reform bills including giving judges broader authority to set bail on additional crimes, such as repeat offenders, hate crimes, sex crimes and high-level drug offenses, and prosecutors will have more time to hand over initial discovery to defense attorneys. Other big items included: the legalization of e-bikes and e-scooters; mandatory 5 to 7 paid sick days for all employees; the prohibition of the so-called Pink Tax; and a ban on flavored vaping products. Read the full story at NYStateofPolitics [dot] com.