By Ed Ra
The governor said the budget was “done” more than a week ago before any bills were introduced, before a financial plan was released and before the Legislature had a chance to do its job. According to Governor Hochul, rubber-stamping backroom deals is apparently good enough.
Now the budget really is done and passed. But when you’re spending a quarter of a trillion dollars of taxpayer money, it shouldn’t be too much to ask for transparency and a complete financial picture.
We were forced to vote on major budget bills without a financial plan, which means we’re voting without knowing what we’re spending, what we’re pulling from reserves and what our future deficits look like. That plan connects all the pieces: our revenue choices, our recurring spending and how far off we are from balancing the books. Lawmakers can’t make informed decisions on behalf of their constituents without that information.
In Nassau County, the state is effectively staging a takeover of our public hospital by reshaping the board to give the governor control. When other struggling hospitals across the state needed help, they got funding—ours didn’t. Health care for 300,000 residents is on the line here, as well as local control.
We also continue to throw more money at the MTA—$4.4 billion in state operating aid this year alone—while the agency sits on nearly $49 billion in debt. Meanwhile, Albany is proud to hand out gimmicky inflation rebate checks that will barely cover a trip to the grocery store.
Yes, there are some good things in this budget. We’re finally paying down the state’s unemployment insurance debt, which is a huge win for small businesses. We’ve secured needed investments in schools, mental health, child care, veterans’ services and increased funding for local roads. I support those. But the way this budget was negotiated and passed is a disservice to the public.
This is the latest state budget in 15 years, and one of the most opaque I’ve seen. And now, we’re looking at nearly $29 billion in projected budget gaps over the next few years. Our state has promised to spend way more than it can afford, setting us up for future tax hikes, service cuts and more debt. This should be a huge wake-up call on the dysfunctional process of passing our state budget and what it means for our future.”
Assemblyman Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square), the ranking Republican member on the Assembly Ways and Means Committee. represents the 19th District, which consists of Nassau County, including parts of the towns of Hempstead and North Hempstead.