New York State Assembly

For the third straight year, the Governor and state Legislature have met the April 1 state budget deadline. Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb (R,C,I-Canandaigua) today issued the following statement on the final 2013-2014 State Budget agreement:

"This is exactly how the process should work and what the public expects of us. This is what we are here to do. It is important to deliver a timely budget because it helps restore the public's confidence in their government. It's important to be on time, but it's far more important to be on-target.

The budget-making process is arduous, difficult choices are made, and the reality is that lawmakers cannot provide everything to everyone. As I'm sure my colleagues would acknowledge, there is still a great deal of work to be done to put New York State on a path of prosperity and sustained success.

The final budget agreement contains a number of items that will help New Yorkers: schools will receive $1 billion in new aid; local infrastructure projects receive an additional $75 million in CHIPs funding; library aid increases by $4 million; the Middle Class Income Tax Cut is extended; EPIC funding is enhanced; $21.1 million in new money is directed to agriculture assistance programs; and more than $20 billion in federal aid will help to continue the recovery from Superstorm Sandy and recent natural disasters.

Moving forward, it is imperative that we sharpen our focus on implementing fiscal policies that spur economic development, get New Yorkers back to work, provide economic and regulatory relief to businesses and taxpayers, and preserve important programs on which thousands of individuals rely. The final spending plan contains beneficial programs, but there are also a number of missed opportunities and policy directions that are simply off-target. I maintain my concerns that the final 2013-2014 State Budget:

• Strips $90 million in funding for crucial programs dedicated to our most needy and deserving population - the developmentally disabled;
• Reinforces Albany's "temporary tax addiction" by extending several tax programs that were scheduled to expire - resulting in billions of dollars in costs that New Yorkers will be forced to pay;
• Does not go far enough to make meaningful progress to relieve local governments and taxpayers of unfunded mandates - meaning property taxes will remain unsustainably high;
• Increases taxes and fees by $661 million this year and by nearly $9.4 billion over the next five years; and
• Conceals major public policy measures in a complex and tedious budget framework. Issues such as minimum wage and amendments to the NY SAFE Act warrant a public discussion and input from New Yorkers.

Opportunities missed are not necessarily opportunities lost. During the remainder of this legislative session we will further focus our efforts on the essential opportunities that were missed in this budget. The Assembly Minority Conference is committed to developing initiatives that will energize our economy, generate jobs, and improve the quality of life in communities across New York State."