By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — It's down to the wire for Albany lawmakers, with a government shutdown looming if the latest spending bill fails to pass.
The Senate was still negotiating late into the afternoon Monday — despite a scheduled noon vote — on an emergency spending bill that will keep the government up and running at least another week. The balanced budget is already 75 days late.
If they can't reach an agreement, the government will effectively shut down at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, the Daily News reported – the first time in the state's history.
A shutdown would mean huge disruptions to government services: The state would stop paying salaries and unemployment benefits, and courts and state parks would be closed.
State employees have already been warned that they may be locked out of buildings Tuesday, Businessweek reported.
But the emergency spending bill contains more than $300 million in cuts, the Wall Street Journal reported, making it a hard pill for some Democratic leaders to swallow.
At least one senator, Bronx Democrat Ruben Diaz Sr., has said that he's going to vote nay on the bill because of the cuts.
"I'm not voting for no more cuts," the senator told the News. "Let the Republicans cut. I'm a Democrat and Democrats protect services for the poor and needy, they don't cut them."
Without Diaz's vote, the Democrats will need Republican help to swing the vote.
But John Sampson, the Senate Democratic Conference Leader, said he is confident that, despite frustrations and opposition, the bill will likely have enough votes to pass.
"We're not playing a game of chicken here," he told the News.
“We are not going to shut down government and risk the safety and livelihood of millions of New Yorkers, Sampson's spokesman said in a statement cited by the New York Times.
"As we continue to make progress on a final budget, we expect to pass the emergency extender and meet taxpayers’ needs,” he said.
After more than two months, the state budget is still long overdue, with deep divides over issues including education spending and property taxes remaining.
The state currently faces a whopping $9.2 billion budget gap.
Lawmakers continued negotiating through the weekend, and have reportedly said they are close to reaching a deal.
Various options are on the table, including various borrowing plans and a proposal to reduce government payments to the state pension fund.
