Brooklyn Detention Center facility, center, sits along Atlantic Avenue in New York. Gov. Cuomo and moderate Democrats in the state Senate want to make changes to the bail law, but those suggestions have run into stiff opposition from Assembly Democrats. Photo: Bebeto Matthews/AP

As lawmakers face a fast-approaching deadline to pass the state budget, it remains uncertain whether the New York State Legislature will change a landmark law overhauling the state's bail rules that came into effect at the beginning of 2020.

The April 1 budget deadline forces a confrontation between law enforcement agencies and more moderate legislators on one side and lawmakers who say the measure needs to be given a chance to work.

The law eliminated pretrial detention for the wide majority of misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies. 

Despite the intensity of the bail debate, the coronavirus outbreak in New York dried up legislative agendas and swiftly seized the attention of state lawmakers. As the budget deadline looms, the focus of legislators has now shifted toward dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo drew a line in the sand on the issue last month, saying he will not approve a budget without changes to the law. He appeared to double down on that position earlier this month and said the issue "will be concluded in the budget."

New York's state budget is often used to push through large-scale policy proposals.

But two prominent law enforcement organizations Monday called on the Legislature to put aside major policy changes in light of the coronavirus outbreak.

"Adopting radical changes in public policy by pretending it is 'budget-related' is a sham, and never the right thing to do, but especially this year," said Washington County Sheriff Jeff Murphy. He is president of the New York State Sheriffs' Association.

The other organization, New York State Association of Chiefs of Police, was critical of the bail law and pushed for changes. But their president, Greece Police Chief Patrick Phelan, said Monday that they would prefer amendments be done in a calm and deliberative process once the crisis has diminished.

Cuomo and moderate Democrats in the state Senate want to make changes to the bail law, but those suggestions have run into stiff opposition from Assembly Democrats.

But dozens of Democrats, primarily in the Assembly, have urged legislative leaders to resist amending the law as New York remains in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic. They argue that rolling back the bail reforms would put more people in jail, threatening to exacerbate the spread of the coronavirus.

Some lawmakers said jails are a dangerous incubator for the coronavirus, particularly because of close living quarters and limited access to soap and hand-washing facilities.

"We cannot allow large sums of people to once again be stuck in the pre-trial phase," said Assemblyman Victor Pichardo, D-Bronx, in a statement. "This would put more people at risk of COVID-19, in turn clogging up our overburdened hospitals."

Democrats in the state Senate have suggested a proposal that would completely eliminate cash bail, but in exchange give the court more power over who stays in jail pretrial. Last year's changes did not ban the practice of cash bail entirely. 

Advocates have lambasted that proposal and argue that providing judges with more discretion would lead to racial disparities. 

Their plan would also amend a law passed last year that requires prosecutors to provide discovery information within a 15-day time period after arraignment. The proposal would extend the deadline in an effort to give district attorneys more time to comply with the requirement.

Cuomo indicated support for giving judges more discretion over pretrial detention, but has not publicly supported the state Senate plan. 

Earlier this year, Chief Judge Janet DiFiore signaled her support for giving judges more discretion, saying the current law does not allow judges to consider whether arrestees are dangerous to other people. She acknowledged the system's historic overreliance on bail, but said the criminal justice system must balance defendants' rights with protecting crime victims. 

"That goal cannot be accomplished if judges are rendered powerless to devise the best securing orders for those very few individuals who have been shown to pose a credible risk of danger," she said. 

Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx, has repeatedly pushed back against calls to change the law.

Earlier this month, Heastie said he is open to looking at concerns about the law, but emphasized his conference's overall position on the issue has not changed and his members do not want to implement a bail system that provides total judicial discretion.

"The foundation of what we did, we think was the correct and right way to do things," he told reporters.

Before the coronavirus derailed the legislative session and seized the attention of local and state leaders, the bail law had been perhaps the most intense debate among New York lawmakers this session.

The law drew a flood of media attention, large-scale rallies and heated rhetoric from rival sides of the issue.

Supporters of the law argued the changes help prevent poor arrestees from languishing in jail for minor offenses as their cases work through the criminal justice system. The old system was unfair and allowed rich defendants to remain out of custody pretrial, they said. 

Law enforcement authorities and prosecutors decried the law, arguing it jeopardized public safety and did not give judges enough say over who remained in jail pretrial. Law enforcement also raised concerns about charges that would not be eligible for bail, such as third-degree assault as a hate crime.

Republicans in the state Senate angled to campaign on the firestorm over the bail issue. But their conference was dealt a significant blow this month when the state Senate Minority Leader John Flanagan, R-Suffolk, announced he would not seek reelection. 

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