(c) On a failure of the director of the budget, the secretary of the senate finance committee and the secretary of the assembly ways and means committee to issue a joint report containing a consensus forecast as provided in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, the state comptroller shall, on or before March fifth, provide estimates of receipts for the current and the ensuing state fiscal year. Such estimates shall include, but not be limited to, expected tax receipts on an all-funds basis, projected lottery receipts, and miscellaneous receipts to be received in the general fund. In rendering his or her estimate, as required in this paragraph, the comptroller shall give due consideration to the inherent risks in economic and revenue forecasting and the interest of the state to maintain budget balance throughout the fiscal year. The estimate of receipts for the ensuing fiscal year provided by the state comptroller, shall be all receipts from such sources available to make disbursements authorized by the appropriation bills submitted by the governor pursuant to section three of article seven of the constitution for the ensuing fiscal year. * 7. Budget balance. (a) As used in this section, such terms shall have the following meanings:

1. (i) "Actual state operating funds tax receipts" shall mean the state operating fund tax receipts, reported by the state comptroller in the monthly report to the legislature on the state fund cash basis of accounting, prepared in accordance with paragraph a of subdivision nine-a of section eight of this chapter, immediately following the measurement period;
2. (ii) "Actual state operating funds disbursements" shall mean the state operating funds disbursements, reported by the state comptroller in the monthly report to the legislature on the state fund cash basis of accounting, prepared in accordance with paragraph a of subdivision nine-a of section eight of this chapter, immediately following the measurement period. Such disbursements shall be adjusted to include any amounts withheld pursuant to this section or any other payment reduction authorized by law, including, but not limited to, payment reductions authorized by a chapter of the laws of two thousand twenty making appropriations for aid-to-localities.
3. (iii) "Estimated state operating funds tax receipts" shall mean the state operating funds tax receipts estimated to be received during the measurement period by the division of the budget in the financial plan.
4. (iv) "Estimated state operating funds disbursements" shall mean the state operating funds disbursements, estimated to be made during the measurement period by the division of the budget in the financial plan.
5. (v) "Financial plan" shall mean a financial plan prepared by the division of the budget pursuant to section twenty-two of this article and this section and used for the measurement period.
6. (vi) "Measurement period" shall mean the period in which the difference between actual state operating funds tax receipts and estimated state operating funds tax receipts shall be measured for purposes of this section. The first measurement period shall begin on April first, two thousand twenty and end on April thirtieth, two thousand twenty. The financial plan estimates for this period shall be the executive financial plan as updated for governor's amendments and forecast revisions issued in February two thousand twenty. The second measurement period shall begin on May first and end on June thirtieth, two thousand twenty. The third measurement period shall begin on July first, two thousand twenty and end on December thirty-first, 2020. The financial plan for the second and third measurement periods shall be the enacted budget financial plan for the two thousand twenty--two thousand twenty-one fiscal year issued pursuant to this section.
7. (b) The executive and the legislature shall maintain a budget that is in balance in the general fund on a cash basis of accounting. For purposes of this section, the budget shall be deemed unbalanced for the fiscal year if, during any measurement period, actual state operating funds tax receipts are less than ninety-nine percent of estimated state operating funds tax receipts, or actual state operating funds disbursements are more than one hundred and one percent of estimated state operating funds disbursements, or both.
8. (c) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, if, on a cash basis of accounting, a general fund imbalance has occurred during any measurement period, as defined in paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the director of the budget is hereby authorized to adjust or reduce any general fund and/or state special revenue fund appropriation and related cash disbursement by any amount needed to maintain a balanced budget for the two thousand twenty--two thousand twenty-one fiscal year. Provided however that such adjustments or reductions shall be done uniformly across-the-board to the extent practicable or by specific appropriations as needed. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, to the extent any individual or entity is entitled to any cash disbursement which is reduced in accordance with this provision, such entitlement shall be adjusted or reduced commensurate with adjustments or reductions made by the director of the budget in accordance with this subdivision.
9. (d) The following types of appropriations shall be exempt from such reduction pursuant to this subdivision: (i) public assistance payments for families and individuals and payments for eligible aged, blind and disabled persons related to supplemental social security; (ii) any reductions that would violate federal law; (iii) payments of debt service and related expenses for which the state is constitutionally obligated to pay debt service or is contractually obligated to pay debt service, subject to an appropriation, including where the state has a contingent contractual obligation; and (iv) payments the state is obligated to make pursuant to court orders or judgments.
10. (e) Prior to any such adjustments or reductions, the director of the budget shall notify in writing the chairs of the senate finance committee and assembly ways and means committee. The legislature shall then have ten days following the receipt of such written notification to either prepare its own plan, which may be adopted by concurrent resolution passed by both houses and implemented by the division of the budget, or if after ten days the legislature fails to adopt its own plan, the reductions to the general fund and state special revenue fund aid to localities appropriations and related disbursements identified in the division of the budget plan will go into effect automatically.
11. (f) Any reductions to general fund and state special revenue fund aid to localities appropriations and related cash disbursements made pursuant to this section may be paid in full or in part if one or both of the following events occur: (i) actual state operating funds tax receipts through February twenty-eighth, two thousand twenty-one are not less than ninety-eight percent of estimated state operating funds tax receipts through February twenty-eighth, two thousand twenty-one; or (ii) the federal government provides aid that the director of the budget deems sufficient to reduce or eliminate the imbalance in the general fund for the two thousand twenty--twenty-one fiscal year and does not adversely impact the budget gap in the two thousand twenty-one--twenty-two fiscal year. No such payments shall be made in part or in full until the director of the budget certifies that: the general fund has resources sufficient to make all planned payments anticipated in the financial plan including tax refunds, without the issuance of deficit bonds or notes or extraordinary cash management actions; the balances in the tax stabilization reserve and rainy day reserve (together, the "rainy day reserves") have been restored to a level equal to the level as of the start of the fiscal year; and other designated balances have been maintained, as provided by law. * NB Repealed March 31, 2021