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State Budget
Silver: Extenders Got Lawmakers Moving
Apr 7th - 11:39 am
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s threat to use extenders did the trick in moving the Legislature on the budget, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said in a radio interview set to first air Friday.
Speaking on WAMC’s Capitol Connection with Alan Chartock, the powerful speaker said his 99-member Democratic conference felt there was no money to fight over this year.
But he also said Cuomo’s vow to use the emergency appropriations to pass much of his budget if the Legislature wouldn’t bend to his cuts had the impact of giving the state its first on-time budget in five years.
“Obviously, you had less money to fight about, that might have cut down the fighting,” the Manhattan Democrat said. “You had a leader in Gov. Cuomo who was able to channel that passion and find that consensus and bring about an early agreement.”
“The governor put a sense of reality, of – ‘Look here’s the reality, here’s how much we can spend. This is all we can and if we do more than this, I’m not going to agree with it, I’m not going to accept it, and if you don’t I’m going to send you my emergency bills which will incorporate everything I want in the budget.’”
This is something of a reversal for Silver, who said during the budget process that the extender threat wasn’t playing a role in the negotiations.
The Assembly agreed to Cuomo’s deep cuts in education, health care and social services, areas that have been traditionally off-limits for the chamber. And Democrats failed to pass a tax on those making more than $1 million, which the governor and Senate GOP opposed.
The use of the extenders themselves, which Gov. David Paterson successfully used during the 2010-11 budget battle, are in a legal “gray area.”
“There’s a lot of gray area in that,” Silver said. “But the Court of Appeals basically ruled the governor has a right to define his appropriations.”
Silver was on the losing end of Silver V. Pataki, the 2004 case that reaffirmed the governor had the power to use the extenders when the budget was late.
There’s been some rumblings that legislators may again challenge the governor’s power to use extenders, especially if non-budget policy proposal, such as reinstating the death penalty, is rammed through via emergency appropriations.
“That might be an extreme position if that could happen that way,” Silver said.
The full interview airs Friday at 10:30 pm and Saturday at 1 p.m.
Two-Week Break For Legislature?
Apr 6th - 4:03 pm
Getting an on-time budget was such hard work that the state Legislature apparently needs an extra week to recouperate.
The Senate and Assembly are in discussions to take off the week following their week-long traditional Passover-Easter break, legislative sources confirm.
The 2011 session calendar agreed to by the legislative leaders at the start of the year calls for lawmakers to be in Albany from April 11-13 and then return to work two weeks later on April 27 for a quickie, two-day session.
The topic of the extra week off was broached this morning during a closed-door conference of the Assembly Democrats, at which Speaker Sheldon Silver indicated the Senate GOP is pushing for the extra time off, according to sources in the room at the time. (NOTE: A Senate source rejected this allegation and insists it’s the Assembly who wants the additional days away from Albany).
This news didn’t sit well with some rank-and-file Assembly members, who privately grumbled about the negative press they will likely receive for staying home an extra week, suggesting there’s plenty left for them to do in Albany before the session’s scheduled end on June 20.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has made a point of maximizing his time in Albany, forgoing trips outside the state and taking just one weekday off (to take his daughters skiing in the Adirondacks) during his three-month tenure in office.
The governor went out of his way after the budget passed to praise the Legislature for meeting (or beating, depending on your view of things) the April 1 budget deadline.
It’s unclear how he might react to the news that lawmakers plan to take extra time off when he’s is pushing a chock-full post-budget agenda that includes ethics reform, a property tax cap, extension and strengthening of the rent control laws, which are set to expire on June 15.
Report: UB2020 Summit Scheduled
Apr 6th - 1:15 pm
The Buffalo News’ Tom Precious reports the UB2020 summit Gov. Andrew Cuomo pledged to host in the Queen City after the key WNY initiative failed to make it into the budget passed last week by the Legislature will be held during the first week of May.
Sen. Mark Grisanti said the governor called him this morning, asking him to gather names of people from Western New York – including university and union officials – to attend the gathering. The panel also will include including Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, a Manhattan Democrat who has opposed the UB2020 plan.
Officials from SUNY at Stony Brook, which is interested in piggybacking onto the UB plan, may also be on the panel, said Grisanti, a Buffalo Republican.
“It’s a positive sign,” Grisanti said.
Word of the summit came as Glick, an influential lawmaker, expressed concerns about the UB2020 plan in a memo to her Assembly colleagues.
Precious notes Cuomo has signaled support for the UB2020 plan, but there’s concern about broadening it out and letting all SUNY schools set their own tuition levels.
Senate GOP Fires First Salvo Against Executive Extender Power
Apr 5th - 6:06 pm
A key component of the Senate GOP’s lawsuit against the prisoner counting change included in the 2010-2011 budget is a challenge to the way that switch was made – through a budget extender bill sent to the Legislature by then-Gov. David Paterson and passed by the Legislature last summer.
The pertinent passage of the suit starts on P. 16. It argues, in short, that the governor does not have the power to enact policy through an emergency extender, which – until Paterson – was traditionally used to keep government running in the absence of a budget deal.
The suit alleges the budget bill that included the prisoner counting change was “enacted unconstitutionally in that it usurped the State Legislature’s power under Article III, Section I.”
“By reason of that usurption and by reason that the sole alternative was to vote against the continuity of State government, members of the Legislature were deprived of their powers under Article III,” the suit continues.
“In this situation, the then-governor became omnipotent and the members of the state Legislature constitutionally helpless as it had no power to remove the purely legislative, non-appropriation language from the Article VII bills.”
The suit concludes that a “dispute exists” over the governor’s constitutional authority to force the Legislature to pass non-revenue items in a revenue bill and this “requires a judicial determination of the score of non-apportionment or non-revenue lanuague in Article VII bills.”
So, if the Senate GOP wins this suit, it could theorectically rob Cuomo of his most powerful tool in future budget battles.
I’m sure the governor is probably going to have something to say about this. But remember: Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver predicted as much….just sayin’.
Biz Groups Heap Praise On Adams, Aubertine
Apr 5th - 5:09 pm
Business and agriculture groups are cheering the confirmations of Kenneth Adams to lead the Empire State Development Corp. and former Sen. Darrel Aubertine as the new commissioner of Agriculture and Markets.
Both were confirmed this afternoon unanimously by the state Senate after first being nominated at the beginning of the year.
The Rochester-based Unshackle Upstate called both confirmations good news for businesses.
“Unshackle Upstate congratulates Kenneth Adams and Darrel Aubertine on their respective confirmations by the New York State Senate as the new Commissioner of the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) and Commissioner of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.
With these appointments, Governor Cuomo and members of the Senate have demonstrated that they are committed to strengthening the Upstate economy. We look forward to working with Commissioner Adams and Commissioner Aubertine as they develop solutions that will advance Upstate economic development initiatives and promote New York’s world-renowned agricultural marketplace.”
Farm Bureau President Dean Norton also praised the confirmation of Aubertine, who is a dairy farmer in Jefferson County.
“We here at Farm Bureau have long enjoyed a productive working relationship with Darrel over the years in his role as chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. Now in his new role, we look forward to working with him again as we take on the many challenges facing the farm families of New York. As a farmer himself, Commissioner Aubertine knows first hand the issues facing our industry and what it will take to help farmers thrive and ensure that consumers receive the safest and most wholesome food products as possible. We also thank Governor Cuomo for selecting a fellow farmer with a long track record of advocacy to be our commissioner. The governor has put his faith in a man who we are confident will work as hard as possible to help foster a viable agriculture industry, creating jobs and spurring rural economic development. We wish Commissioner Aubertine success.”
Continuing the economic development theme was Cuomo himself who said in a statement that, “Darrel and Ken are intrinsic to the reinvention and reopening of New York as a destination for good jobs and growth. “Darrel’s expertise on agricultural matters and his tireless advocacy for farmers in the state legislature is unmatched. Ken knows what it takes to keep private sector jobs from leaving and bring new ones to the state. He will be essential to my administration’s message that New York is open for business.”
Committee To Save NY Lauds Cuomo – And Legislature! – In New Ad
Apr 4th - 3:56 pm
The business-backed Committee to Save New York has launched yet another TV ad (its fourth of this session, I believe) that praises both Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Legislature for last week’s passage of a budget that makes good on the governor’s pledge to close the $10 billion deficit without raising taxes.
In lauding the Legislature – a first for the committee – the pro-Cuomo entity is following the governor’s lead. (Recall that he heaped praise on the Assembly and Senate in his post-budget video victory lap).
The ad started running yesterday morning, according to CSNY spokesman Bill Cunningham. It’s available on the committee’s Website. It also makes reference to the property tax cap that Cuomo has been pushing since the 2010 campaign, which wasn’t included in the final budget and so far is just a one-house bill (the Senate).
According to Fred Dicker’s column this morning, the Cuomo administration is sensitive to the fact that the governor will likely be blamed for property tax increases that arise from the roughly $1.3 billion worth of education aid cuts in the budget unless the 2 percent cap he’s proposing is passed.
But that’s going to be a tricky dance, because a cap without mandate relief isn’t going to help matters much, either.
As Tom Precious noted this morning, the governor no longer has the extender bill option he wielded like an iron fist during the budget talks. He does, however, have the power of “linkage”, which could prove helpful if he follows Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s lead and connects the cap with rent control.
It could be a long and fractious rest of the 2011 session. Thankfully for Cuomo, the CSNY didn’t have to spend nearly as much of the $10 million or so it raised during the budget battle and has plenty left over to fight another day (although how a major CSNY player, REBNY, will feel about the rent control fight is another matter altogether).
In the meantime, here’s the new CSNY ad script:
“In New York State, change has finally come. Governor Cuomo kept his promise to close a $10 billion dollar deficit, targeting waste without raising taxes. Bringing real reform to the broken politics of Albany. Thanks to the governor – and Legislature – New York businesses can invest and grow for new jobs and a stronger economy. Today and tomorrow. Together, we’re putting the governor’s plan to create jobs and cap taxes to work for the benefit of all New Yorkers.”
Spend-O-Meter
Apr 1st - 1:32 pm
While it’s true that the $132.5 billion on-time budget passed by the Legislature this week reduces overall spending by 2 percent, it still spends a lot of money. A. Lot.
Just to give you an idea of exactly how much money we’re talking about, the folks over at The Empire Center have created a Web-based “Spend-O-Meter” to put $132.5 billion into context.
“Under this year’s budget, our state government will spend more every hour than 200 typical New York families earn in a year,” said E.J. McMahon of the Empire Center.
Methodology: The Spend-O-Meter project reflects the “all funds” financial plan disbursements of New York’s state government for the current fiscal year (April 1, 2011-March 31, 2012). It calculates the amount spent since 12:00 a.m. on April 1.
Disclaimer: The Spend-O-Meter calculates the amount based on the “clock time” of the viewer’s computer. Viewers with incorrect time settings or malfunctioning computer clocks may see inaccurate numbers.
Cost Of Bill Printing Settled Once And For All
Apr 1st - 12:26 pm
First it was $20 million, then it was $400,000, but now it appears a compromise has been reached on how much it costs to print thousands upon thousands of sheets of paper when bills and memos go to the floors of the Senate and Assembly.
During the budget vote in the Assembly that spilled into Thursday morning, Jim Tedisco (R-Saratoga) spoke behind a wall of paper once again making the case for the Legislature to go paperless.
In the video posted below, Tedisco persuaded Assembly Ways And Means Chairman Denny Farrell (D-Manhattan) to explain the cost of printing is $13 million, plus an additional $40 million for waste management and disposal, according to a press release sent by Tedisco’s office.
Tedisco originally said the cost is estimated at $20 million dollars, which the Democratic majority disputed–putting the cost at only $400,000.
Skelos Thanks Cuomo, Derides Dems
Mar 31st - 5:17 pm
Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, who is trying to link himself and his conference as closely to Gov. Andrew Cuomo as humanly (and politically) possible, followed the governor’s lead by taking a post-budget victory lap via a Web video released this afternoon.
Skelos took a shot at the Democrats right out of the gate, saying:
“For the past two years, when state government was controlled by the Democrats, New Yorkers were hit with late budgets that increased spending and taxes and drove jobs out of this state.”
“We promised to put an end to that dysfunction and restore fiscal sanity by cutting taxes, reducing spending and creating jobs. The budget we passed two days before the April 1 deadline fulfills those promises.”
“The budget spends less, taxes less and includes real reforms that will put New York back on the road to economic prosperity.”
(Two days early, eh? The majority leader is going by a different calendar than mine, apparently, although there’s been a lot of debate over what constitutes an “early” versus merely “on time” spending plan).
Skelos goes on to reiterate some of his favorite pre-budget talking points, promising to continue this trend of working in a bipartisan fashion with Cuomo to provide sane, adult leadership in Albany.
Not surprisingly, Senate Democratic spokesman Austin Shafran isn’t buying all that. He released the following response:
“The Senate chamber, which Senator Skelos blocked the public from yesterday, should be a place for bipartisan cooperation and united action, not political attacks. It is our hope the spirit of bipartisanship that gave us an on-time budget will continue and the promises we all made will be promises kept,” said Austin Shafran, spokesman for the Senate Democratic Conference.”
Common Cause Considers Suit Over Capitol Lockdown
Mar 31st - 3:45 pm
Common Cause/NY Executive Director Susan Lerner told me during a CapTon interview that her organization is “looking at” a possible legal challenge over the Legislature’s decision to restrict public access to certain parts of the Capitol during last night’s budget vote.
Common Cause is arguing that the “virtual lockdown” violated Article III, Section 10 of the state Constitution, which says:
“The doors of each house [of the Legislature] shall be kept open, except when the public welfare shall require secrecy.”
I suggested that perhaps a concern for lawmakers’ safety – recall that Assembly Majority Leader Ron Canestrari said the protesters “threatened us” – might be a sufficient cause for taking extra security measures and shutting down parts of the Capitol normally open to the public. Lerner rejected that, saying:
I don’t think anybody’s arguing the budget debates required secrecy. They were telecast. The press was there. So what justification do you have, constitutionally? Convenience is not a constitutional value. This is straightforward language.”
“…I am sure that legislators who are used to being walled off from the people find it very challenging to have people who are angry actually observing what’s going on.”
My full interview with Lerner will air this evening at 8 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.
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