Madmallard
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Gov. Andrew Cuomo is seeking broad new authority to unilaterally hold back promised budget payments if tax money and federal aid don’t materialize as expected, an unprecedented move that has sparked concern among state and local officials.
Fiscal analysts pointed to several lines sprinkled dozens of times throughout the budget bill detailing aid to localities, which authorizes state payments for education and Medicaid, among other things.
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The provision says “the amount available for payment under this appropriation may be reduced” according to a plan developed by budget director Robert Mujica, provided that it “specify the uniform percentage reductions” in spending. The powers kick in if “receipts, including but not limited to receipts from the federal government, are less than the amount assumed in the 2017-18 financial plan.”
Budget spokesman Morris Peters said the new powers provided needed “flexibility” given the rhetoric of the incoming Trump administration and the possibility some of the $52 billion New York gets from Washington — about a third of the $152.3 billion spending plan Cuomo proposed this week — is reduced.
Cuomo seeks unilateral power to make mid-year budget changes
Fiscal analysts pointed to several lines sprinkled dozens of times throughout the budget bill detailing aid to localities, which authorizes state payments for education and Medicaid, among other things.
Story Continued Below
The provision says “the amount available for payment under this appropriation may be reduced” according to a plan developed by budget director Robert Mujica, provided that it “specify the uniform percentage reductions” in spending. The powers kick in if “receipts, including but not limited to receipts from the federal government, are less than the amount assumed in the 2017-18 financial plan.”
Budget spokesman Morris Peters said the new powers provided needed “flexibility” given the rhetoric of the incoming Trump administration and the possibility some of the $52 billion New York gets from Washington — about a third of the $152.3 billion spending plan Cuomo proposed this week — is reduced.
Cuomo seeks unilateral power to make mid-year budget changes
