Today, Assemblyman Joseph Angelino (R,C-Norwich) joined his Minority colleagues in both the Assembly and Senate to call attention to the disastrous New York state budget process. The budget was due on April 1 and Majority has blown by that date by 25 days, requiring the passage of five temporary budget extenders to make sure hard-working state employees continued to get paid.

Angelino and his colleagues are calling for a more open budget process as opposed to the current system where all negotiations are held in secret. This measure of transparency would help restore New Yorkers’ faith in their state government.

“This is the most absurd budget process I have witnessed since I first joined the Assembly. Instead of passing a fully-transparent budget on time, Gov. Hochul and Albany Majority lawmakers have decided to negotiate in secret, resulting in a budget that is closing in on being a month late. The people of New York deserve better than a bloated budget cobbled together in backroom deals and filled with policy. A budget should consist of dollars, not a progressive policy wish list,” said Angelino.