Override Of Pataki Budget Veto Appears Imminent

Governor George Pataki

Fulfilling a pledge he made several weeks ago, Governor George Pataki yesterday vetoed the budget that the state legislature had passed without his participation and sent it back to the lawmakers.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno vowed to act to override the veto, and they appear to have the ability to do just that. The override process is expected to begin today and conclude tomorrow.

An override requires a two-thirds majority vote in each house, or 100 votes in the Assembly and 41 votes in the Senate. There are 103 Democrats in the Assembly, enough to pass the override on their own. In the Senate, there are 38 Republicans and 24 Democrats. More than 41 votes were cast for the legislature’s budget, so it’s likely there will be more than enough to pass the override.

Commenting on the governor’s action, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, taking a conciliatory tone, noted that the governor’s own budget proposal, issued on Monday, put forward a good faith $1.7 billion package for New York City.

"However, the $2.7 billion agreement with the state legislature covers both new revenues and restorations, both of which are necessary for the city to close its budget gap," Bloomberg explained.

They mayor said it was too late for any more negotiations and took a swipe at Pataki for refusing to negotiate in thanking Silver and Bruno for their help, thanks that included "all the legislators who have to stand up and make the difficult decisions that require foresight and courage."

In his announcement, Pataki said, "Today I will veto the largest tax increase in state history--billions of dollars in new taxes that will hurt families, seniors and small businesses--and drive jobs out of New York, both upstate and down."

In all, Pataki said, he was vetoing $3.2 billion in tax increases and $1.3 billion in "unsustainable" spending increases. Using the line-item veto, he said, would mean he would issue 119 separate vetoes in all, covering the budget bills approved in the state legislators’ package.

Pataki said that the national recession and terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 had created new challenges which demand that the state’s leaders "unite and face those challenges head on."

"Sadly," he continued, "our partners in Albany, the members of the legislature, have chosen the wrong path. Their budget calls for billions in new spending and hundreds of millions in pork-barrel spending. It rejects all government reforms, relies on fiscal gimmicks and contains the largest tax increase in New York history."

The governor’s original budget proposal totaled $90.8 billion, but the one passed by both Democrats and Republicans in the state legislature totaled $94.4 billion. The legislature’s spending plan sharply increased funding to bail Bloomberg out of a $3.5 billion deficit and put back sharp cuts in education and health care. The governor has steadfastly refused to agree to any tax increases.

Pataki said his vetoing the $1.2 billion in Medicaid cost containment measures proposed in his executive budget but ignored by the legislature is legally impossible. "Absent those cost containment measures," he warned, "state Medicaid spending will continue to grow substantially by approximately $1 billion over the executive budget."

Pataki said he would veto the additional school aid funding which the legislators added to his executive budget allocation because the additional appropriation was "illusory--here today and gone tomorrow."

He said he had cut education funds in the firm conviction that, "We can continue and expand our record investments in education if we have the courage to make the right choices today."

"History teaches that the right choice to lift New York state out of its fiscal crisis is to create an economic climate that encourages the creation of new private sector jobs, thereby providing the foundation for increased investments in government programs that we all care about," Pataki added.

The governor said the second largest veto action he was taking would eliminate $200 million in spending on member items--allocations to each Senator or Assemblymember to spend on programs in his or her district which do not require any approvals--added by the legislature. Pataki said, "Not only is this the highest level of member item funding ever, but the legislature has provided no details whatever on how they intend to spend this money."