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Janae Pierre: Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City. From WNYC, it's Tuesday, April 29th. Here's the midday news from Michael Hill.

Michael Hill: The MTA says it will install modern fare gate designs at 20 different subway stations this fall. WNYC's Ramsey Khalifeh reports, it's part of a pilot program that aims to crack down on fare evasion.

Ramsey Khalifeh: This isn't your grandfather's subway turnstile. Officials say these new gates, which have sliding glass doors, make it harder for people to ride without paying. That's a big priority for the agency, which loses an estimated $700 million a year to fare beaters. MTA Construction President Jamie Torres-Springer says the new gates mark a major step forward for the agency.

Jamie Torres-Springer: These gates are the cutting edge and are aimed at both ensuring fare compliance and making the system more accessible and easier to use.

Ramsey Khalifeh: The agency will pilot new fare gates from four different companies at select stations. Officials plan to eventually roll them out to 150 stations. That's if lawmakers in Albany fully fund the MTA's expansive construction plan.

Michael Hill: The New York Knicks are one win away from the next round of the NBA playoffs. WNYC's Sean Carlson has more.

Sean Carlson: They may be getting the orange and blue confetti ready at the world's most famous arena as we speak. The Knicks are up three games to one in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Detroit Pistons. That means if they win their game tonight at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks will knock Detroit out and punch their ticket to the next series. If the Pistons win, that'll send the series back to the Motor City for a Thursday night game. But the Knicks would still only need one win to advance. The Knicks got to the second round last season only to be defeated by the Indiana Pacers. They have not won an NBA championship since 1973.

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Michael Hill: 71 and sunny now, sunny and warm. 82 increasing winds gusting to 26 miles an hour today.

Janae Pierre: Stick around. There's more to come.

Announcer: NYC Now.

Michael Hill: Just shy of a month after their deadline, New York State lawmakers have a handshake deal on the state budget. Here to tell us all about it is WNYC's state government reporter Jimmy Vielkind. Jimmy, for those who have been following every twist and turn like you have, why does it take so long to hammer out the budget?

Jimmy Vielkind: Well, Michael, the first reason is that it's a lot of money. The state is talking about a $254 billion, billion with a B, budget which spends money on everything from health care programs to schools. That's about $2 billion higher than Governor Hochul first proposed in January. But more than dollars and cents, the budget is basically a vehicle where state passes lots of its legislation for the year.

The reason this took so long is that Governor Hochul used the budget as a vehicle to push a few controversial policies. That includes a bell-to-bell ban on student use of cell phones during the school day and changes to how evidence is shared before a criminal trial. That's the discovery process. Lawmakers have decided that it's going to get harder for defense lawyers to dismiss a case as a result of information not being turned over by prosecutors.

Michael Hill: Now, Jimmy, what about restrictions on wearing masks in public? Because I know that was an issue. We know that was one of the last sticking points.

Jimmy Vielkind: Well, that's right, and it was a somewhat later proposal by Governor Hochul. Initially, she backed the creation of a new law that would have made it illegal to wear a mask with the intent to harass. But there was lots of pushback and lots of questions about how would you ever know somebody's intent? How would you know if someone's wearing a mask for medical reasons or for religious reasons? That was going to be really hard to enforce.

Instead, lawmakers now say that they will toughen penalties for people who commit other crimes like petty larceny or assault while they're wearing the mask or fleeing the scene of that crime. Governor Hochul, the other day said that this was a matter of public safety. Here she is.

Governor Hochul: We have to protect our citizens, and those who are trying to hurt others and vandalize or threaten, disguising their identity, they shouldn't be able to get away with that.

Michael Hill: What about the school cell phone ban, Jimmy? When does that take effect?

Jimmy Vielkind: It should be in place for the coming year, Michael. Each district needs to adopt its own policy. There will be exceptions for students who serve as caregivers for another family member or loved one, as well as exceptions for people with disability accommodations.

Michael Hill: Now, Hochul made this announcement four weeks after the budget deadline. But are things actually done, and what happens next?

Jimmy Vielkind: No, they're not actually quite done. We know that state legislators still haven't finished all the nitty gritty of everything else, and that includes things like hospital funding and how much they're going to raise payroll taxes to fund the MTA. After that gets done, there will be a series of budget bills that need to be debated, voted upon, and we assume that will take up at the very least the rest of this week.

Michael Hill: Jimmy, this is happening as Congress itself is also discussing a new budget plan. How might that affect what New York lawmakers are doing?

Jimmy Vielkind: It's a huge risk. This budget relies on more than $90 billion of federal funding, mostly for the Medicaid program, which is a program that provides health insurance to low-income and disabled New Yorkers. If Congress makes cuts, New York lawmakers are basically going to have to start again. There's not just a but here, there's an and. You have to think also about stock market volatility that's been caused by President Trump's tariffs. That could also have a major impact on state revenues. It's another reason that lawmakers assume that they will be back later this year, probably in the fall, to once again work on a budget.

Michael Hill: Wow, Jimmy, what else is on Albany's agenda once, once this gets done?

Jimmy Vielkind: This really is going to be most of the action for the year, but the lawmaking session extends until the middle of June. Some of the big items that I expect are going to come up include a medical aid and dying bill, which is actually set for a vote in the state assembly this week. It would allow terminally ill patients over age 18 to get doctor approval to take prescribed medication to end their life.

I also expect we're going to hear lots more debate about whether New York should pass a broader sanctuary policy, which would restrict how local police departments can cooperate with federal immigration authorities. It's called the New York for All Act. There's no consistent policy around the state. As we see deportations roll along, there are more concern among advocates for immigrants and several lawmakers. I expect that could culminate in some legislative action.

Michael Hill: Jimmy, you've covered a lot of ground in this conversation. Remind us once again what is the next step to finalize the state budget?

Jimmy Vielkind: Well, there are still talks ongoing as to the final details of what's going to be in that budget, but at this point, it does seem to be a finished deal. Lawmakers will write the bills. They'll be introduced. I will be reading them. Maybe some listeners will be reading them, but I'll certainly be reading them. Hopefully, they will be debated and voted upon over the course of this week and maybe a little bit into next week.

Michael Hill: That's WNYC's Jimmy Vielkind. Jimmy, as always, thank you so much.

Jimmy Vielkind: Thanks, Michael.

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Janae Pierre: Thanks for listening. This is NYC Now from WNYC. Check us out for updates every weekday, three times a day for the latest news headlines and occasional deep dives. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. We'll be back this evening.

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