NY Budget Talks: Opioid Tax, Manhattan Taxi Surcharge Likely

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York lawmakers say they’re inching closer to a deal on a new state budget.
The Senate and Assembly hope to begin voting on budget bills late Thursday. They’re up against a budget deadline Sunday, and want to finish early in time to be home for the Jewish Passover, which begins Friday at sunset, or Christian Easter on Sunday.
Senate Deputy Majority Leader John DeFrancisco, a Republican, says his party has mostly blocked Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s call for $1 billion in new taxes and fees — though a tax on opioid manufacturers appears possible.
Also in the roughly $170 billion budget deal are surcharges for taxi and Uber and Lyft rides in Manhattan and a new state sexual harassment policy.
A proposal to allow advance voting, meanwhile, appears dead.