SERINO: BLOATED BUDGET PROPOSAL IS RECIPE FOR DISASTER FOR FUTURE GENERATION

ALBANY, NY – Senator Sue Serino released the following statement in response to the passage of the Supermajority’s One-House Budget Proposal:

“Today, the Supermajority approved a one-house budget resolution that includes over $9 billion in taxpayer dollars over what the Governor proposed. That is a truly staggering number. While this proposal is just that—a proposal—it is nothing more than an unsustainable political wish list. 

A number of proposals I have advocated for made it into this proposal, including ‘Fair Pay 4 Home Care,’ statewide funding for the highly successful Joseph P. Dwyer Veterans Peer Support Program, significant funding for childcare, mental health care, infrastructure and small business assistance, as well as a repeal of the broadband fiber optic fee and more. However, despite the bloated numbers, this proposal still failed to include any significant funding to prevent the spread of Lyme and tick-borne diseases, failed to fully suspend the state gas tax—proposing to do so only partially—and failed to provide adequate funding to bolster programs or fix the broken Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) that has left too many New York renters and small landlords in indefinite limbo. Additionally, while I do not believe that budgets are the proper place to debate policy, this proposal fails to correct any of the public safety problems being exacerbated by ‘bail reform’ and instead includes ‘Clean Slate’ language that continues to put criminals ahead of law-abiding citizens. 

While New York may have the funds available today thanks to significant pandemic response assistance provided by the federal government, too much of the funding their proposal relies on is not continuous. The Supermajority is simply proposing to kick the can down the road for the next generation of elected officials to deal with.

Budgets are about priorities, and the proposal passed today shows that the Supermajority once again has theirs backwards. It is clear that the politicians running Albany have more interest in scoring headlines than advancing realistic proposals that make New York a more affordable place to live.

 I voted ‘no’ today for these reasons and will continue to advocate for a responsible spending plan that meets our community’s needs.”

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