New York legislature passes long-delayed state budget — including provision for AG Letitia James’ legal defense

It’s astir time.

Both houses of the authorities legislature passed Gov. Kathy Hochul’s monolithic $254 cardinal authorities fund bundle Thursday nighttime pursuing days of statement and implicit a period hold past the April 1 deadline.

Lawmakers made the last votes connected the spending program Thursday evening aft fierce statement implicit a proviso slipped into the fund — first revealed by The Post — that could permission authorities taxpayers connected the hook for millions of dollars of ineligible fees for Attorney General Letitia James.

“This surely is the tallness of hypocrisy,” authorities Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island) said during statement connected the Senate floor.

The proviso tucked into the fund would let a authorities worker to beryllium reimbursed for ineligible bills if they look “discriminatory oregon retaliatory treatment” from the national authorities arsenic a effect of their employment.

The revelation came a time earlier sources confirmed the FBI has opened an investigation into an allegation that the attorney wide committed owe fraud by misrepresenting her superior residency connected paperwork.

“I can’t ideate a bulk of New Yorkers not being outraged that their hard-earned dollars that spell to the authorities are present being utilized oregon tin beryllium utilized to wage for backstage attorneys to support nationalist officials against charges of crimes that they committed having thing to bash with their elected position,” Lanza said.

However, Deputy State Senate Majority Leader Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) argued that the instrumentality is needed “because we are presently successful an situation politically wherever the ineligible system, the prosecutorial system, investigative bodies of authorities are being utilized to people governmental enemies.”

Lawmakers connected some sides of the aisle seemed to explicit much exuberance astir the budget’s transition than its existent contents.

The 10 idiosyncratic bills that represent the monolithic spending bundle passed mostly on enactment lines.

Under authorities law, legislators bash not get paid portion the authorities fund is delayed, prompting lawmakers to enactment up successful crockery room manner to person insubstantial checks with their astir 5 weeks of backmost pay.

Hochul is expected to motion the bills.