Hawley: Another Week Passes Without A State Budget, Assembly Majority Appears Unconcerned

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R, I, C – Batavia) issued the following statement following the close of today’s legislative session without the passage of the 2010-2011 State Budget

After another week of inaction, and seven days past the due date, the 2010-2011 State Budget has not passed. Instead, the Majority continues to meet behind closed doors, which will likely lead to new taxes, increased government spending, and worst of all, more state borrowing, while sending the rank-and-file members of the Assembly trivial legislation to vote on. With New York State nearly bankrupt, this kind of inaction is unacceptable. We should have been in session last week, and not passing the budget this week only wasted more taxpayer money at a cost of more than $100,000. I am willing to stay in Albany until the budget crisis is solved. Unfortunately, it appears that my colleagues in the Majority are not, and despite the ensuing fiscal crisis, would rather put the budget off until next week, if not next month. Clearly, this year’s budget process shows how broken New York state government really is.