NY bill drafting commission hit by cyberattack, throwing wrench into state budget passage

The state office responsible for putting together legislation was hit with a cyberattack early Wednesday — throwing a wrench into the budget process, The Post has learned.

Capitol officials confirmed that the Legislative Bill Drafting Commission — which drafts and publishes the bills that will make up the fiscal year 2025 spending plan — was crippled for hours by the hack before they were able to start using a backup system.

It was not clear who may have launched the attack, what data may have been compromised or the extent of damage affecting the commission.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state was investigating the attack, noting it may “take a little bit longer” to get the budget moved through the statehouse.

“We’re finding the path forward with 1994 computers,” Hochul told Brian Lehrer on WNYC, adding, “No one will do it better than we do in trying to get to the bottom of this.”

“The bill drafting system has been down since early this morning. They are working to correct the issue as soon as possible. They can still process work for the houses and we don’t believe this will delay the overall process,” a spokesperson for state Senate Democrats said.

The office had begun publishing some of the less controversial of the 10 individual bills that make up the budget Tuesday night when the cyberattack happened, according to the sources.

“They can still process work for the houses and we don’t believe this will delay the overall process,” a spokesperson for state Senate Democrats said earlier Wednesday.

Until a few years ago, state law required that legislators have physical printed copies of proposed bills in order to vote on them.

While that requirement has since been scrapped, the commission is responsible for putting bills in their final standard format and uploading them into centralized software for lawmakers and the public to access them.

Lawmakers and budget officials initially considered reviving the old practice of physically printing the bills before the workaround was brought online, one source said.

“The Governor immediately deployed state cybersecurity officials to assist the Legislature and address this issue,” a Hochul spokesperson added in a statement to The Post. “The budget process is ongoing and we will continue working with the Legislature to finish a budget that serves the needs of all New Yorkers.”