Jimmy Vielkind,Capital unusual York's Albany bureau chief, talks approximately final budget negotiations as the April 1 deadline approaches."Things are hung up on minimum wage, and " explained Vielkind. Governor Cuomo has attach the vast majority (if not all) of his political capital into trying to get $15 minimum wage passed in the state,as well as paid family leave.
But those who oppose a $15 minimum wage point to dairy farmers (an industry that likely wouldn't be able to sustain that wage) and the median wage upstate, which in some areas is just a dollar or two higher than $15.
So there are two compromises currently being proposed: raise the minimum wage to $12/$13 upstate and index it to rise with inflation; or implement an 8 or 9 year ramp-up period to instating a $15 minimum wage rather than Cuomo's current proposal of 5 years.
Source: onthemedia.org