After nearly two months from when it was originally due, the New York state budget has finally been passed. This year, Albany continued its trend of uncontrollable spending, as this budget comes in at a whopping $268 billion, the largest in history.

There were, of course, in a budget this large, some good things, such as the postponement of the electric school bus mandates, changes to the CLCPA and pension reform for correction officers, which is why I voted for these things—but overall, there were too many poison pills in the budget, which is why I voted against most of it.

New York doesn’t have a revenue problem; it has a spending problem. Back home, folks know they can’t spend their way to prosperity; the state needs to learn the same and realize that sometimes you need to cut back on spending. At a time when small businesses are struggling, the plan to add more taxes, fees and regulations is a sure way to drive them out of the state.

I will report more on the budget at a later time, because the governor used a “message of necessity” on the budget bills, so we didn’t have a chance to read everything contained in the massive bills.

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