LEADING THE FIGHT FOR A FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE, ON-TIME STATE BUDGET: A TIMELINE OF ASSEMBLY REPUBLICAN ACTION
Legislative column from Assembly Republican Leader Brian M. Kolb (R,I,C-Canandaigua)
Three weeks and counting – that is how long New York has been without the 2010-11 State Budget which was due back on April 1. Instead of action, taxpayers have gotten excuses from the Democratic leadership in both houses of the state Legislature and Governor Paterson. Their excuses are many and, frankly, they are unconvincing. Let’s be perfectly clear: New Yorkers don’t want excuses from politicians in Albany as to why the 2010-11 State Budget is late. What they want are real solutions that will move this stalled process forward and get the budget done.
ASSEMBLY REPUBLICANS: PUSHING FOR GREATER ACCOUNTABILITY & TRANSPARENCY IN STATE GOVERNMENT
Real solutions are exactly what our Assembly Republican Conference and I have continually offered to close the state’s $9.05 billion budget deficit and reform New York’s broken budget process. Not only have we publicly offered our ideas, but we have also called for action plans and timetables as part of our ongoing push for greater accountability and transparency in state government. I want to share with you a timeline of what Assembly Republicans have been doing for well over a year to solve New York’s fiscal crisis and deliver the on-time, fiscally responsible State Budget that taxpayers deserve.
A TIMELINE OF CALLING, AND VOTING, FOR FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY
March 31, 2009: Our entire Assembly Republican Conference voted against the 2009-10 State Budget and warned that its dramatic increase in spending was fueled by non-recurring federal stimulus monies, that it eliminated middle class property tax relief and added $8.5 billion in new taxes and fees;
July 19, 2009: As state revenues continued their dramatic decline and New York’s unemployment climbed to a 26-year high, I called on Governor Paterson to convene a series of public Legislative Leaders’ meetings to deal with the exploding state budget deficit;
October, 2009: Our Assembly Republican Conference submitted a series of “conversation starters” on the Deficit Reduction Plan (DRP) to Governor Paterson and other Legislative Conferences that would achieve over $3 billion in budgetary savings when fully implemented. Some of our ideas included the extensive consolidations and mergers of State Agencies;
November, 2009: After weeks of an unproductive Special Session called by Governor Paterson, I pushed for an up-or-down vote on a Deficit Reduction Plan (DRP);
January, 2010: Our Assembly Republican Conference opposed the over $1 billion in new taxes and fees contained within Governor Paterson’s 2010-11 Executive Budget;
January – March, 2010: I continued advocating for an open, transparent and public budget process;
March 4, 2010: I announced our Assembly Republican Conference’s appointments to the Joint Budget Conference Committee, making ours the first legislative Conference to do so;
March 11, 2010: With New York’s April 1 fiscal deadline quickly approaching and no progress on the 2010-11 State Budget in sight, I again urged Governor Paterson to convene public Legislative Leaders’ meetings to make progress on a fiscally responsible spending plan;
March 24, 2010: Much as we did for the 2009-10 State Budget, our Assembly Republican Conference unanimously opposed an Assembly Democrat Majority budget resolution that included over $300 million in new taxes and $2 billion in additional borrowing;
March 26, 2010: The one – and only – 2010 meeting of the Joint General Budget Conference Committee finally took place. I offered several specific ideas to address the state’s $9.05 billion budget deficit, including the collection of sales taxes for cigarettes and other purchases made on Native American lands by non-Native American Indians, a move projected to generate nearly $600 million in State Revenue;
April 1, 2010: The 2010-11 State Budget is late, marking the 21st time since 1985 that New York’s spending plan has not been enacted by the April 1 fiscal deadline;
April 2, 2010: In the wake of another missed fiscal deadline, I called for public budget forums to be televised and broadcast statewide via radio and streamed on the Internet, saying it would provide the “extreme makeover” state government needs;
April 9, 2010: I sent a letter to Governor Paterson saying he should ask the Legislature to pass legislation declaring a “state of financial emergency”;
April 14, 2010: Our Assembly Republican Conference and I called on Governor Paterson to restore state funding to construction contractors to ensure critical infrastructure projects could move forward and prevent the potential loss of 5,000 jobs in New York’s construction industry.
This timeline represents just some of what our Assembly Republican Conference and I have been doing to get the State Budget done. My legislative column next week will outline some of our specific budget proposals and the reforms we have offered to help fix the broken process.
As always, constituents wishing to discuss this topic, or any other state-related matter should contact my district office at (315) 781-2030, or e-mail me at kolbb@assembly.state.ny.us. You can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and informational updates regarding state government and our Assembly Republican Conference.
