State Budget Still Up in the Air

State Budget Still Up in the Air
Vetoes Face Possible Overrides

The latest-approved budget in New York state history faces even more delays as Assembly members threatened to engage in a tug-of-war over spending items vetoed by Gov. George Pataki.

Albany politicians finally passed a $101.3 billion budget on Aug. 11, more than four months past deadline. Pataki responded with vetoes of 195 items, amounting to a $1.8 billion cut in the legislature’s proposed spending.

By Aug. 20, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver pledged to override some of the governor’s vetoes, stating in a press release that more than two-thirds of the governor’s cuts related to job creation, higher education and health-care initiatives. According to The Legislative Gazette, the Assembly scheduled a conference for Sept. 20 to examine the budget. The Senate, as of this writing, had no plans for a special session.

Aggravating the lack of consensus over the budget is a busy election year that, at least on paper, makes all 212 legislative seats up for grabs. With Albany absorbed in election campaigns in home districts, it is unclear if and when the budget will be finalized.

The dilatory budget process and the distraction of elections are likely to also further suspend action on a plethora of pending bills, including accounting reform legislation. The Senate last June passed a Society-supported bill (S302-D) and forwarded the bill to the Assembly. But, before heading into recess, the Assembly pushed a separate bill that prompted a quick grassroots opposition effort among New York State Society of CPAs members.

Sen. Kenneth LaValle (who sponsored S302-D) and Assemblyman Ron Canestrari (who sponsored the Assembly’s accounting reform bill) said in separate interviews with The Trusted Professional that they would meet to discuss the accounting legislation.

Albany faces more looming questions, though, that put even more weight on the budget problem. According to the Gazette, the state faces an estimated $6 billion gap for the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2005, creating a drag on the state’s bond rating and its ability to borrow money in the future.

Albany’s perennial fiscal delinquency may seem like business as usual, but there could be ramifications at the polls come November. According to a July Siena College poll, 46 percent of New Yorkers say they plan to vote out incumbents, although another 43 percent said the late budget would have no effect on their vote at all. More than two-thirds of those polled placed the blame for the late budget on the governor and both houses of the legislature.