New York lawmakers have greenlighted changes to loosen discovery deadlines for prosecutors, one in a series of trims to landmark criminal justice reforms that went into place at the beginning of this year. 

Under the changes, prosecutors will be given 20 days to produce discovery information after an arraignment, if a defendant is in custody on a misdemeanor or felony. The amendments give prosecutors 35 days following an arraignment if an arrestee has been released in misdemeanor or felony cases.

Those changes expand current deadlines that require prosecutors to turn over discovery information within 15 days of an arraignment in most cases. In the past, that deadline did not exist under state law and meant some prosecutors could take a longer amount of time to provide the information. 

This year's discovery amendments were tucked into the extensive legislative budget package approved by the New York Legislature at 3 a.m. Friday.

The deal also included changes to the state's controversial bail law that added new crimes to the list of bail-eligible offenses. The controversial bail reform tweak had been advanced by the Senate early Thursday and concurred in by the state Assembly later in the day.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York lawmakers often use the budget to pass non-fiscal policy priorities. 

Criminal justice reformers lambasted the Legislature—both houses of which are controlled by Democrats—for cutting back on the reforms, saying the amendments to bail and discovery reforms will disproportionately affect people of color.

"The passage of these provisions will lead to needless and crushing suffering, family separation, beatings, loss of employment," advocacy groups said in a statement. The cohort included a campaign aimed at releasing aging people in prison.

Prosecutors had leveled sharp criticism over the state government's handling of the discovery reforms last year, saying they need more resources and money to comply with the 15-day deadline. 

This session, lawmakers sought to address that issue by approving a fund to help with the reform's implementation. The fund will initially be made up of $40 million in payments tied to deferred prosecution agreements held by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

The money could be used to pay for administrative support, computers, operating software, overtime costs and pretrial services, among other topics.

Cuomo signed the budget package into law Friday.

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