FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 22, 2009

GOVERNOR PATERSON VETOES 14 BILLS, SAVES NEW YORK STATE $5.7 MILLION

Calls for Fiscal Discipline from Legislature, Focus only on Essential Programs and Services

Governor David A. Paterson today announced that he has vetoed 14 bills that would have added significant costs to taxpayers and further strained the State Budget. The bills were drafted outside of the budgetary process and would have expanded non-essential programs and services at a cost of $5.7 million. The proposed legislation did not offer reductive measures to compensate for the spending increases.

“This is not a time to add to the State’s spending or to increase the burden on the State’s taxpayers. This is the time for fiscal responsibility, and that means vetoing bills that increase costs to taxpayers,” Governor Paterson said. “While these bills address important causes, government has to live within its means – just like regular New Yorkers do every day. That means making difficult choices so we can lay the foundation for our economic recovery.”

Included among the legislation vetoed this week:

A.1800/S.2210, which could have cost New York City an estimated $162 million by changing the definition of the word “income” as related to the way in which seniors’ out-of-pocket medical expenses are treated in the tax code;

A.8103/S.5261-B, which would have provided $5 million in State Lottery Aid to a school district with an unbalanced budget, thereby setting the dangerous precedent of encouraging schools not to balance their budgets and wait for Lottery Aid to bail them out;

A.8864/S.6074, which would have increased costs to the State’s student loan program;

A.8694/S.5824, which would have changed the date on which the City of Syracuse could have requested aid money, allowing the city two aid payments in the amount of $10 million for its current fiscal year;

A.8374/S.5073, which would have reduced the power of the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority (BFSA), despite the BFSA’s important role in restoring the city’s financial health;

A.4166/S.3594, which would have authorized the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) to award $250,000 grants out of its existing funds for shared-use kitchen facilities, though UDC has no way currently to cover this cost;

A.5788/S.2706-A, which would have given the Town of Islip Tax Assessor the ability to change the way in which its property taxes are levied – a power that the Assessor expressly disavowed;

A.6532-B/S.4405-A, which would have obliged the Crime Victims Board to cover transportation costs for basic hearings at which there is no compelling reason for the plaintiff to appear;

A.8581/S.2756, which would have allowed the Highland Falls Central School District to repay State Aid over six years instead of three; and

A.1356A/S.714-A; A.4587-A/S.693; A.4767/S.1796; A.5364-A/S.2230-A; A.7202-A/S.3650-A, which would have allowed local school districts to receive or retain State aid despite the fact that, in each instance, the district violated State bidding or cost reporting requirements.

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