Gov. David Paterson's budget plan irks some Democrats
ALBANY — Gov. David Paterson plans to continue including parts of his budget proposal — possibly taxes and fees and education cuts — in weekly budget extenders to force lawmakers to either adopt his plan or shut down government, he said Tuesday.
Lawmakers have gone along reluctantly with his strategy, but some were particularly put out this week because, unlike the previous nine emergency-budget bill packages, this one required them to vote on about 40 percent of total state spending for the year.
A few Democratic senators said they would not vote yes again, which would force a government shutdown because Democrats have a slim 32-30 majority in that house and need all 32 votes to pass legislation. Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos, R-Nassau County, said Tuesday that the GOP won't help Democrats reach 32 votes.
"Right now, our conference believes that piecemeal budgeting is not the way to do it, and if it means stopping things for a couple of days, then we're prepared to do it," he said Tuesday.
After a late-afternoon meeting with Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson, D-Brooklyn, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, Paterson said "leaders seem to be bringing some real reductions to the table."
Sampson and Silver said they're moving forward in narrowing the gap.
Adopting a budget through emergency-appropriations bills is not ideal, the governor said, but he is doing it that way because the Legislature and his administration have yet to reach an agreement on $2.2 billion in cuts. The state is facing a $9.2 billion deficit this year, which began April 1. That has made reaching a budget deal more difficult.
Paterson said his administration is reviewing possibilities for increasing revenue to put in future emergency-appropriations legislation. One option is raising cigarette taxes, something he proposed in his budget earlier this year. He said he hasn't ruled out borrowing money, but that should be a last resort.
No comments:
Post a Comment