Name: Efforts to give NY legislators more budget power unlikely to advance
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Efforts to give NY legislators more budget power unlikely to advance

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This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateALBANY - New York lawmakers want more influence in the state budget process, but the likelihood is slim that a constitutional change will make the ballot next year that would allow New Yorkers to decide on shifting some of that power away from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.The Legislature is in Albany this week wrapping up its session that was derailed by the coronavirus pandemic, but Capitol insiders say the proposed constitutional change is unlikely to be acted on before Aug. 3 - the deadline to begin the process of changing the state Constitution.Legislators have long bemoaned the budget process, which gives them little sway in making changes to the executive proposal, and are seeking to bring a balance of power with the constitutional change. To get the amendment on the ballot for voter approval next year, legislators must pass the bill 90 days before the general election this year and again next year with the new Legislature.Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, D-Bronx, said the change would allow legislators to have an equal role in shaping the budget.“It becomes very hard and practically impossible when the executive has almost unilateral control on the majority of the content in the budget,” Biaggi said during a recent virtual news conference on the legislation. “The executive acts as a quasi-legislator, using the budget as a vehicle to pass legislation on his agenda.”Unlike other states, New York’s budget often includes policies that have little or nothing to do with the state’s finances, and thus governors have used it as a tool to push policies and legislation that may not pass the Legislature. This year's budget, for instance, included legislation that shielded nursing homes and health care facilities from legal liability associated with the pandemic.The amendment would allow for legislators to modify or substitute items in the budget. As it stands, legislators can only add or delete items, or adjust the dollar amount.“If the governor submits a budget that says, here is a Medicaid program, but none of the money can be used to fix broken arms, there is no way in the New York state Constitution for the Legislature to change that unless the governor chooses to resubmit the budget including our change,” Assemblyman Richard N. Gottfried, D-Manhattan, said.Budget negotiations also take place behind closed doors with the governor, Assembly speaker and Senate majority leader – the latter two with the backing of their respective conferences. That practice often leads to agreements being reached only a few hours before legislators vote on them, leaving little time to review and debate their merits. Indeed, many lawmakers have acknowledged voting on legislation they have not read.The Legislature’s quest for more power in the budget process is not new. In 2004, the Court of Appeals ruled on two cases – commonly referred to jointly as Silver v. Pataki – and decided that the governor has sweeping authority in the budget process and can include policies unrelated to finances. The following year, New Yorkers overwhelmingly rejected a constitutional amendment that would have given legislators more power in the process.Sen. Daphne Jordan, R-Halfmoon, earlier this year introduced bills that would give more budget authority to lawmakers as well: one constitutional amendment would require two-thirds of the state Legislature to back tax increases, and the second would mandate that budget bills only focus on fiscal matters. She also introduced a constitutional amendment last year to similarly restrict the governor’s power in the budget process.The ire Cuomo’s budget power attracts has been on full display during the public health crisis, with Republican and Democratic legislators both expressing a need to reign in the executive power the governor was given to respond to COVID-19 in New York.Lawmakers supportive of balancing authority in the budget process say that it’s a concern all legislators have, regardless of political party.“This is a bipartisan issue, but more so this is a constituent issue. How are we supposed to do that effectively if we have no seat at this table?” Assemblyman Jake Ashby, R-Castleton, said. “What is (Cuomo) saying about how he views the legislature’s input on our state’s priorities when we are unable to come together and reach bipartisan agreements?”

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateALBANY - New York lawmakers want more influence in the state budget process, but the likelihood is slim that a constitutional change will make the ballot next year that would allow New Yorkers to decide on shifting some of that power away from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.The Legislature is in Albany this week wrapping up its session that was derailed by the coronavirus pandemic, but Capitol insiders say the proposed constitutional change is unlikely to be acted on before Aug. 3 - the deadline to begin the process of changing the state...

Efforts to give NY legislators more budget power unlikely to advance

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