The Assembly One-House Budget & Where We Go from Here

Legislative Column by Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush (R,C-Black River)

This week, the budget process in Albany continued as both the state Senate and Assembly released their ‘One-House’ proposals. Think of these proposals as counter offers to the governor’s budget proposal that she rolled out last month. Now that the two houses of the Legislature have presented their plans along with the governor, the three parties will negotiate behind closed doors before crafting a final package due by April 1. In past columns I have talked about how flawed the process is, as these negotiations block out all Minority lawmakers voices and silence the millions of New Yorkers we represent. We have also seen in the past that the Majorities try to jam through the most unpopular pieces of their proposals in the dark of night when the April 1 deadline is looming.

Let’s take a look at some of the proposals in the Assembly Majority One-House package. To begin with, their proposal totals $233 billion, which is $6 billion higher than what the governor rolled out. To say this price tag is tone deaf would be an understatement. Albany Majority lawmakers continue to spend frivolously with little commitment to fiscal responsibility. The Assembly Majority agrees with the governor’s controversial film tax credit and increasing the allocation from $420 million to $700 million. Should our North Country and Mohawk Valley taxpayer dollars be going to the governor’s friends in Hollywood while everyday New Yorkers continue to struggle with inflation? I say no and I vote no.

How about we send the money allocated to the film tax credit to something meaningful, like our local roads, bridges and culverts? The Assembly Majority’s proposal has no increase in funding for the critical Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS). By holding level funding from last years budget, my colleagues fail to recognize the increased costs across the board for our highway superintendents, including a 22% increase in construction inflation. Local governments are responsible for the care and upkeep of 87% of New York roads, we must do all we can to assist at the state level.

Another disappointing aspect of the One-House proposal is that Assembly Majority makes no mention of fixing bail reform and Senate Majority go as far as to say they will not be moving on any of the governor’s plans to tweak the law. Members of the Majority continue to callously say the crime in New York is a ‘perception’ problem, really? We can see it on the news every night with our own eyes. We must fix bail reform and at the very least allow judges to use their discretion in determining the level of danger a violent offender poses to the community before deciding bail.

One piece of the Assembly Majority proposal that I was happy to see was an increase in the Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) for human services workers. The governor only proposed a 2.5% increase while the Majority proposed an 8.5% increase, which is something I have been happy to support.

With all of this said, nothing is final until we pass a package by April 1. Single-party rule would be wise to negotiate down the final price tag, engage with us in the Republican Conference and pass a budget that would do well by those paying for it, the taxpayers.

As always, please feel free to reach out to my office at 315-493-3909 or email me at blankenbushk@nyassembly.gov.