By Mark Weiner
syracuse.com
ALBANY, N.Y. 鈥� Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York lawmakers are headed for a last-minute budget showdown over funding for a new emergency department and annex at Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse.
The state Assembly and Senate in their budget bills to replace the that serves a 14-county region in Upstate New York.
But Hochul says she believes the $200 million she included in her January budget proposal is enough money to begin the expansion of the second busiest adult trauma center in New York state.
Hochul dug into that position last week amid a last-minute lobbying blitz by Upstate New York lawmakers that included members from Syracuse, Binghamton and Utica.
The governor is standing firm at $200 million in budget talks because she doesn鈥檛 believe the ER expansion needs to be fully funded this year, said spokesman Matt Janiszewski.
Assembly and Senate members from Central New York are pushing back, making the case that chronic overcrowding and other needs at University Hospital are too urgent to risk pushing into future budget years, when the state鈥檚 financial picture could change.
Members of the local delegation said they have been in daily contact with Hochul鈥檚 office or legislative leaders to make the case for the full $450 million as budget talks near their conclusion.
State lawmakers have passed a series of budget extensions after missing the April 1 deadline for a final state budget.
But a deal on key policy issues could happen within days, the lawmakers said, followed by quick negotiations on spending priorities including funding for the University Hospital ER.
Assembly member Bill Magnarelli, D- Syracuse, said those final negotiations will be crucial in trying to secure the full $450 million in a deal with Hochul.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not over yet,鈥� Magnarelli told | The Post-Standard. 鈥淲e鈥檙e still arguing for it. This is still my most important area of the budget. I want to make sure Upstate Medical is getting what it needs for its infrastructure. I think we鈥檙e moving in the right direction.鈥�
Magnarelli, a senior member of the Assembly, said he has underscored the importance of the project in recent talks with Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and senior members of Hochul鈥檚 budget office.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 get any commitments,鈥� Magnarelli said after speaking with Hochul鈥檚 team. 鈥淏ut I also got the feeling that the governor understands what is happening at Upstate.鈥�
At the same time, state Sen. Rachel May, D- Syracuse, has spoken directly to Hochul about fully funding the expansion this year, a spokesman said.
May made the hospital鈥檚 needs 鈥渁 constant refrain鈥� in discussions about budget priorities with Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and members of the Senate Finance Committee.
Stewart-Cousins and Heastie have been meeting privately with Hochul for weeks to negotiate a budget agreement.
Assembly member Pamela Hunter, D- Syracuse, said she used her new influence as a member of the legislature鈥檚 leadership team to advocate for the full $450 million request in budget talks.
In January, , the sixth-ranking position in the 150-member Assembly. In that post, she presides over the Assembly for most of its daily business.
Hunter said she told Heastie in their regular meetings that the hospital鈥檚 needs are too urgent to push off to future years.
鈥淭he need for Upstate is still out there,鈥� Hunter told . 鈥淭he need is now. Ambulances waiting for hours and hours in a bay because they can鈥檛 deliver a patient is not good healthcare delivery.鈥�
The University Hospital ER treats three times as many patients as it has the space to accommodate, a problem that forces some patients to wait on chairs or gurneys in the hallways for treatment, has documented.
The average wait time was nearly five hours in 2023, one of the worst in the state. Last year, one in seven patients left the adult ER without getting care.
The hospital serves as the only Level 1 trauma center in a 14-county region between Rochester and Albany. It is also the only pediatric hospital for 22 counties, the only burn center in 37 counties and the poison control center for 54 counties.
To fix the problems, the SUNY Board of Trustees from the state budget to build a new emergency department, burn center and more operating rooms.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not an insignificant task to get something like this through the SUNY construction fund,鈥� Hunter said. She added it would be risky to assume the board will support future funding requests if the state allocates $200 million this year.
Hunter and Magnarelli said they would be open to a compromise with Hochul if the final budget deal includes a written agreement to fund the hospital expansion over two years.
鈥淚 believe the governor鈥檚 thinking is you鈥檙e not going to spend $200 million in one year,鈥� Magnarelli said. 鈥淏ut allowing the hospital and SUNY to know the money is there for that project takes away a lot of the anxiety and makes the planning process better. I would be OK with that.鈥�
漏2025 Advance Local Media LLC.
Visit .
Distributed by