State lawmakers expected to vote on $100M in cuts

ALBANY - Lawmakers are expected Friday to vote on budget bills for spending on police, roads and economic development, including about $100 million in cuts.

Thursday night, negotiators for Gov. David A. Paterson and the legislature's Democratic majorities were finalizing the measures, which among other things, would replace the 10-year-old Empire Zones business development program with the less-expensive Excelsior Jobs Program, according to knowledgeable sources.

They said the measures authorize $18.5 billion in improvements to bridges and roads, consolidation of upstate prisons, and tax incentives to encourage hiring by companies. A requirement that motorists purchase new license plates is also eliminated, the sources said.

The bills are expected to be adopted, meaning that lawmakers will have approved 69 percent of the $136-billion budget, according to Erik Kriss, a spokesman for Paterson's budget office. Among the unresolved issues are cuts to school aid and colleges, and whether to increase taxes to help close the $9.2-billion deficit.

Asked about the budget bills, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) said, "Things are going fairly well . . . I'm hopeful we can complete a budget by Monday or Tuesday."

Paterson has said the budget must be adopted by June 28 or he will force lawmakers to choose between passing his deep spending cuts or shutting down state government. Yesterday, he postponed until June 28 including school aid cuts in the emergency spending bills required to keep state offices open another week because the budget is late.

"I would save that until the last emergency appropriation [bills] because I want to give the legislature every possible chance," Paterson told WHCU radio in upstate Ithaca.

The governor added that lawmakers want to restore $419 million of the more than $1 billion in education aid cuts he has proposed - but so far have failed to identify alternative reductions. If the aid were forthcoming, school districts with reserve funds would have to lower next year's property tax levy.

In another radio interview, Paterson repeated his pledge to veto a budget agreement that relies on borrowing to wipe out the deficit. He said tax hikes were preferable.

Republicans seized on the comments as proof that New York's Democratic triumvirate plans to increase taxes.

State Sen. Dean Skelos of Rockville Centre, the minority leader, said only about $1 billion in spending cuts have been approved so far. "Taxpayers should hold onto their wallets because the Democrats are ready to hit them up for more money," he said.

Austin Shafran, a spokesman for the Senate Democrats, shot back, "We know what Senate Republicans are against, but the question remains what they stand for - because it sure isn't the people of New York."