With 5th Budget Extender, Senator Walczyk Calls For Passage of Transparent Budget Bills

Senator Mark Walczyk believes that now would be a great time to remind Albany Democrats that there are some good budget bills that have been introduced and should be passed to ensure a successful and open budget process. Five budget extender bills have been passed in Albany and there is still no word on when the legislature will have a chance to review and debate full budget language. Democrats have control over the three main facets in the budget process; controlling the Senate, the Assembly, and the Governor. Still, with all of their “control”, their inability to lead has put this state in this position where we are without a budget. 

As it stands now, the Governor will most likely use a “Message of Necessity” to bypass the 3 day aging period and pass the budget in the least transparent way possible. All budget’s should see the light of day and every legislator needs every opportunity to carefully review each line of the budget to truly get a feel for what direction we are taking our state. Senator Walczyk has introduced S4285, which is a constitutional amendment that would prohibit the Governor from using a message of necessity and require the 3 day aging period, thus giving every legislator proper time to prepare for an educated vote on the final budget. 

Between 2019 and 2023, the state budget has increased over 30%. Clearly, the trajectory of spending in this state is unsustainable and the high taxes to cover the spending has put a burden on New Yorkers across the state. Albany Democrats carelessness with budget spending has caused a max exodus of jobs and heavily contributes to New York being a leader in outmigration. To combat Democrat budget incompetence, Senator Walczyk has also introduced S5940, which would require that a cap be placed on the budget to not exceed 15% of the state’s gross domestic product. This small measure would greatly improve the budget process and ensure that taxpayers are not being overburdened with Albany Democrat wishlists.

When the Governor first took office, she claimed to usher a new administration full of transparency. Unfortunately, her words seem to be nothing more than a hollow statement. It’s been over 2 months since the last public hearing on budget bills, yet we hear from the Majority Leader in the Senate that this is the most policy driven budget she’s ever seen. Surely we would like to believe that Albany Democrats aren’t putting a new controversial policy in this budget without informing the public, however, common sense tells us that New Yorkers should be very concerned over the lack of transparency in this process.
 

“One-party rule in Albany is once again proving that they are nothing but completely and utterly dysfunctional”, said Senator Walczyk. “When we hear the Majority Leader of the Senate say there’s more policy packed into the budget than she’s ever seen and yet, nobody knows what that might be, that’s a severe problem. It’s been over 2 months since the public, media, and even members of the legislature have been locked out of this process. There was a time where these budgets were negotiated and the public was updated on the process. We need to return to that level of transparency and my budget bills do just that.”