“Proposing a bloated budget filled with gimmicks and handouts won’t actually provide relief for New Yorkers, yet it appears the governor is doing exactly that by proposing once again the largest budget in state history, clocking in at $19 billion more than her proposal last year for a whopping $252 billion total. As we have seen in the past, making our budget bigger and bigger does not improve the quality of life for New Yorkers, as we have experienced rising prices and our nation-leading outmigration crisis.In regard to her plan to use a $3 billion surplus to send checks to people making as much as $300,000, we could be spending that money on things to help back the state off a fiscal cliff, such as paying down the debt New York state incurred by borrowing money from the federal government to pay for unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. New Yorkers are feeling the pain every day of trying to save money to pay for things like housing, child care, utilities and insurance, all resulting in people deciding to pack their bags and move to more affordable states. My Minority Conference colleagues and I will push both the governor and the Legislature to take a more fiscally responsible route during the budget negotiation process.”