Senator Metzger Introduces “Clean Budget” Bill to End Practice of Including Non-Budgetary Legislation in the State Budget

Albany, NY…On the heels of a state budget passed during an unprecedented public health crisis, Senator Jen Metzger (SD-42) has introduced a bill to end the practice of passing substantive legislation as part of the budget, which she argues circumvents the legislative process and blurs the distinctive roles of the Legislature and Executive. The first-term Senator's "Clean Budget" bill (S8212) would amend the New York State Constitution to clarify that legislation may be included in the budget only if it is necessary to implement the various appropriations and expenditures contained in the budget bills. 

“Passing legislation as part of the budget has been the routine for a long time, and it's not good government,” said Senator Metzger. “To better ensure transparency and accountability in law-making, the people of New York State should know where their elected representatives stand on individual bills. Legislation should proceed through the committee process, and be voted on individually, under the public eye, instead of being negotiated entirely behind closed doors and voted on as part of a much larger budget package.”

The only instance in which the Governor has constitutional authority to introduce legislation is to implement the budget, and in practice, this has led to a wide range of non-budgetary legislation being included as part of the budget package. 

The Governor's proposed 2020-2021 Executive Budget—the starting point for negotiating the final budget adopted on April 1—included legislation on issues as wide-ranging as a polystyrene ban, prevailing wage, and gestational surrogacy. A number of these legislative initiatives were based on bills previously introduced by members of the Senate and Assembly. Others, such as merging the Bridge Authority and Thruway Authority, were new proposals of the Executive. While not every piece of legislation proposed in the Executive Budget made it into the final budget (including the merger proposal), many did, often with modifications negotiated among the Governor, Senate, and Assembly.