Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks at a press briefing on coronavirus in Albany on Wednesday. Photo: Darren McGee/Office of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo

Gov. Andrew Cuomo reported he met with prosecutors, police officials and criminal justice experts Wednesday about the state's bail law but said a deal had not been struck over if or how the reforms should be changed. 

The bail law, which went into effect at the beginning of the year, eliminated cash bail for the wide majority of misdemeanor and nonviolent felony cases.

Cuomo described the meeting as a "general conversation without a conclusion," but added that "it will be concluded in the budget."

Cuomo's office said the meeting included Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark and Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler. The meeting also involved New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea and representatives from The Legal Aid Society and the Vera Institute of Justice.

Cuomo's comments come as New York remains in the grip of a spreading coronavirus outbreak that has reached into the daily lives of Americans nationwide.

New York lawmakers face an April 1 deadline to pass the budget, but officials have indicated that lawmakers are working on an accelerated time frame to pass the budget amid concerns over the coronavirus.

Cuomo, a third-term Democrat who often uses the state budget to push through his policy priorities, has said he will not approve the state budget without changes to the bail law.

He doubled down on that position Wednesday, saying the issue "will be concluded in the budget."

Prosecutors and law enforcement have leveled sharp criticism against the bill and argued it did not give judges enough discretion over who remained in jail pretrial.

Now New York's legislative leaders continue to appear at odds over whether to amend the law that overhauled the state's bail system.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx, who has repeatedly pushed back against calls to change the law, said his conference's overall position on the issue has not changed and his members do not want to implement a bail system that allows for total judicial discretion.

"The foundation of what we did, we think was the correct and right way to do things," he told reporters Wednesday. Beastie hedged his comments by saying he is open to looking at concerns about the law.

Passing a law that might jail more people could compound the public health crisis surrounding the coronavirus, he suggested.

The bail law, which went into effect at the beginning of the year, eliminated cash bail for the wide majority of misdemeanor and nonviolent felony cases. The law touched off a firestorm debate that pitted criminal justice reformers against prosecutors and law enforcement officials. 

Prosecutors and law enforcement argue the law did not give judges enough discretion over who remained in jail pretrial. 

State Senate Democrats have floated a proposal that would do away with cash bail in total but give judges more say over who stays in jail while their case works through the system. Advocates lambasted the proposal and argued it would lead to racial disparities.

Cuomo's past comments on bail largely align with the state Senate's proposal, but he has not specifically backed their plan.

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