New York’s state budget is now two weeks late. There are no public indications that the secret negotiations are heading toward a quick resolution. Reading the tea leaves, the late budget is largely the result of Governor Hochul’s insistence that lawmakers approve non-budget measures, such as weakening the climate law, as part of an overall budget agreement.

While a late budget is nothing new to New York, the ongoing negotiations often “crowd out” discussions on other important proposals, as well as reduce the amount of time lawmakers have to consider legislation after the budget negotiations are concluded.

According to the 2026 legislative calendar, the session is scheduled to end on June 4^th. The state budget was supposed to be in place March 31^st, with last week and this week a scheduled break to observe religious holidays. The calendar had lawmakers returning Monday April 20^th with 26 legislative days until the scheduled end of session.

Unless budget negotiations are concluded very soon, the budget “logjam” will squeeze out the available time for lawmakers to consider non-budget legislative issues in the remaining two dozen plus days of the session.

Late budgets don’t just shrink the post-budget calendar. As a practical matter important budget issues are often moved to the back burner during the time the executive and the legislative leaders negotiate the governor’s non-budget issues. One important issue that may not be getting the attention it deserves is the need for “capital” improvements for the state university and city university systems. “Capital” projects are long-term investments that require significant funding to improve or maintain major assets, such as buildings and infrastructure.

According to both SUNY and CUNY, the infrastructure of their systems are aging and badly in need of repair.

The SUNY Chancellor has said that the system has a $10 billion backlog in critical repairs, which at the current rate of funding, would take decades to complete. $10 billion is a big number and while all of it doesn’t have to go out the door this budget, a lot of money is needed right away.

For example, this past winter at SUNY Purchase students were forced to be reassigned to classrooms due to a heating outage in nearly all the academic buildings on campus. Even at one of SUNY’s big universities, the price tag is staggering. SUNY Stony Brook’s sprawling campus alone faces costs that total nearly $2 billion in expenses for deferred maintenance. The situation is no different for the CUNY system. According to CUNY’s five-year capital plan, CUNY identified 27,000 systems in need of repair, with a cost of around $7 billion.

Upgrading the infrastructures of the university systems will undoubtedly make them more attractive to prospective students and improve the educational experience of current students. But there can be additional benefits as well. Both SUNY and CUNY contain hundreds of buildings. Buildings are the leading emitter of greenhouse gases in New York. Modernizing college buildings while reducing their carbon footprints are important steps in helping the state meet its carbon reduction goals.

Of course, there are many other budget issues worthy of attention. Eventually a budget agreement will materialize. In some fashion the governor’s non-budget items likely will get addressed. Here’s hoping that important budget issues – like strengthening the state’s public university systems – gets the attention they deserve.