New York finally has a budget, albeit a month late in typical Albany fashion. This monstrous budget comes in at a whopping $254 billion, the largest in state history.

As with every budget, especially one this large, there are good things for all of us. But, as usual, the majority has slipped in poison pills, which have forced me to vote no. These include reckless spending as well as tax increases, all at a time when we are facing a fiscal cliff. 

Perhaps the most concerning part of the budget is a $10 million slush fund for elected officials to be used for their legal fees. The taxpayer should not be on the hook to defend people accused of serious wrongdoing. No one else in the state gets this privilege, so why would an elected official be any different? One wonders why this was added just as the FBI formally launched an investigation into Attorney General James.

I’m happy to report that modest changes were made to discovery laws to help bring some balance between the prosecution and the defense during trials, but I would have liked to see them go further to increase public safety, as well as an increase in CHIPS funding; although not as much as I would have liked, to make sure our local roads and bridges receive the funding needed to make repairs.

Overall, however, this budget does not work for the majority of New Yorkers and will instead increase our fiscal peril and contribute to our nation-leading outmigration.

Assemblyman Joseph Angelino, (R, C-121)
Norwich, NY