Statement on Governor’s Proposed Contingency Budget

This contingency budget is an unprecedented power grab by the governor. It’s a move both so confusing and counterproductive as to fly in the face of any claim he makes to be seeking an open and public debate about this year’s budget, which he only finished amending last week.

Even before the Legislature’s joint fiscal committee hearings are completed in the next few days and the public has been given a chance to comment on his first budget proposal, the governor rushes out with a contingency budget that stands the state Constitution on its head.

The fine print in the governor’s contingency budget gives him total power to suspend, alter or modify any law, rule or regulation relating to state funding. Because of a state Court of Appeals decision last December, he already has more budgetary power than any chief executive in the nation, including the president. Now he’s declaring budgetary martial law in our state.

This contingency budget is further evidence of the governor’s effort to become a virtual budget czar, dictating state spending and laws without input from citizens and their elected representatives in the Legislature. His contingency budget arrived the same day the fiscal committees were hearing the public’s thoughts on education funding in the governor’s first budget, a plan that cuts reimbursement aid to school districts $250 million, leaving school districts and property-taxpayers to foot the bill. That first budget also is drawing increasingly intense public fire for the devastation it causes in cutting higher education funding by $295 million and in cutting and taxing our health-care system a total of more than $2.5 billion.

Make no mistake, if this contingency budget passes, it would be the budget for New York State. And if it were adopted, practically every school district would receive a cut in state aid.

With this contingency budget, the governor continues to exploit the astonishing power granted under the court’s misguided decision to ram his cuts through. The Citizens’ Budget Commission said this decision was not helpful to a fair and timely budget process. Now the governor is compounding his wrong choices by submitting this contingency budget and indicating he’ll propose a third executive budget in April. He’s only adding confusion, delay and distraction from the budget process.

Because his contingency plan is neither reform nor a way to end New York’s string of late budgets, the Assembly will not pass it. And while it may signal he’s giving up on negotiating and simply attempting to seize total power, the Assembly will continue to work for a fair and timely budget.

Click here to view Governor’s Proposed 2005-06 School Aid Runs