Cyberattack sends New York Gov. Hochul and lawmakers back to 1994 with budget in the balance

Published Apr 17, 2024 at 12:55 p.m. ET

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Published Apr 17, 2024 at 12:55 p.m. ET

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An overnight cyberattack is forcing New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers to turn the clocks back to 1994 as they continue to negotiate over the state's next budget.

The Legislative Bill Drafting Commission, which writes and prints legislation at the state Capitol in Albany, appears to have been hit with a cyberattack in the early morning hours, Hochul confirmed Wednesday on WNYC’s "The Brian Lehrer Show."

Hochul said the commission is now reverting to a three-decades-old backup system to draw up state budget bills, and acknowledged it could delay the already-late budget process.

“It’s OK right now,” Hochul told Lehrer. “We have to go back to the more antiquated system we had in place from 1994.”

It’s a particularly problematic time for a cyberattack at the Capitol. Hochul on Monday announced a handshake deal with legislative leaders on “the parameters of a conceptual agreement” on a $237 billion state spending plan, which is now more than two weeks late.

The bill drafting commission is in charge of putting the emerging budget agreement into actual legislation, a stack of hundreds of pages that is presented to lawmakers for a vote. The Legislature is hoping to wrap up voting by the end of the week, ahead of the start of Passover on Monday.

The extent of the attack — and who was behind it — wasn’t immediately clear.

Mike Murphy, a spokesperson for state Senate Democrats, said on Wednesday that the bill drafting system had “been down since early this morning.”

“They are working to correct the issue as soon as possible,” he said. “They can still process work for the houses and we don’t believe this will delay the overall process.”

Avi Small, Hochul’s press secretary, said the governor was briefed on the cybersecurity incident Wednesday morning.

“The Governor immediately deployed state cybersecurity officials to assist the Legislature and address this issue,” Small said. “The budget process is ongoing and we will continue working with the Legislature to finish a budget that serves the needs of all New Yorkers.”

Mike Whyland, a spokesperson for state Assembly Democrats, said the attack isn’t expected to affect the bill drafting commission’s work. The commission is “still able to do what they need,” he said.

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Jon Campbell covers the New York State Capitol for WNYC and Gothamist. Prior to that, he covered the Capitol for more than a decade for the USA TODAY Network. He has twice earned the Walter T. Brown Memorial Award, an honor given annually by the Legislative Correspondents Association alumni for outstanding state government coverage. Jon grew up in the Buffalo area and graduated from the University at Albany. Got a tip? Email Jon at [email protected] or Signal 518-210-7087.

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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