Working off last year’s success of an on-time state budget, Assemblyman Bill Reilich (R,I,C-Greece) stood today with his Assembly minority colleagues in calling for an on-time fiscal plan this year.
“There’s good reason to pass the budget by the April 1 deadline,” said Reilich. “There are thousands of school districts, economic development projects and local governments that cannot be left hanging because of political partisanship. The most important thing we can do as legislators is to fulfill our obligation to our constituents by supporting an on-time budget.”
Reilich noted some of the reforms being promoted by his Assembly minority conference are requiring a plain-language summary of the budget 48 hours prior to a vote and enacting the previous year’s budget no later than 72 hours after the start of a new fiscal year if no spending plan is in place. The assemblyman also favors requiring two-year education funding plans be made part of the state budget to ensure school districts do not suffer from the yearly angst of prolonged budget deliberations.