The first public leaders meeting in more than two months occurred this morning with all five leaders at the table. In his opening statement, Governor Paterson opened by stating that the deep spending cuts to education, health care and a host of other areas is something he is forced to do as a result of the state’s ongoing fiscal crisis.

“However, it is what it is,” Paterson said. “We’re in the situation that we’re in. Other states have confronted it. Many states have not confronted it. Because of that, five to 10 states are in jeopardy of going in default…No state has gone into default since Nevada did in 1930. But that’s where America is right now. […] To this point, New York is not on the list of the top 20 states whose deficit is a significant portion of their GDP, but we could get there in a heartbeat if we don’t act and we don’t act swiftly.”

Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson reiterated his conference’s desire for property tax relief, saying the issue is “not just about checks” to be sent to seniors in an election year, but “some sort of structural reform.” Sampson called for the State to move to GAAP budgeting which would, among other things, move the end of the fiscal year to June.

Regarding ongoing budget negotiations, Sampson said he’ll be naming members to the budget conference subcommittees today.

Speaker Silver then took the floor and stressed the parties should end their engagement in “political theater” and get something done. He then said the Assembly Democrats won’t agree to anything they feel puts a disproportionate share of pain onto “working men and women.” Speaker Silver has yet to commit to budget conference committees due to the lack of a fiscal plan but indicated that he would be willing to have a general conference committee.

Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos railed against the fact that there have been no conference committee meetings and insisting the GOP has been “left out of the process.” Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb condemned the entire budget process, saying it has been a “disaster,” adding: “We’ve wasted 50 days since April 1.”

Following the opening statements, Minority Leader Skelos went toe to toe with Speaker Silver regarding cuts to Medicaid and the Speakers reluctance to begin the conference committee process.

Governor Paterson has called another leaders meeting for next Tuesday and has asked that conference committees get underway as soon as possible. Paterson also stated that he will call special session next Thursday and Friday so “all conventioneers might want to think about staying in Albany next week.” The Democratic State Convention begins next week in Westchester.

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NYPTA May E-Newsletter

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Governor Paterson announced yesterday an additional $620 million in proposed cuts to the State Budget. These cuts, when combined with his Executive Budget, present a fully-balanced gap closing plan. Provided below is an outline of the new proposed cuts.

Click the Read More Link to see what the major components of the Governor's plan include.

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As budget negotiations continue through this week and next, it is crucial that NYPTA members reach out to their elected officials on a number of budgetary concerns. We have a very small time frame in which we can impact policy negotiations. Additionally, as the budget continues to be negotiated, urge the legislature to pass weekly budget extender bills that account for needed state expenditures to transit.

CALL YOUR SENATOR AND ASSEMBLYMEMBER and ask that they:

• Support an increase in the Mortgage Recording Tax to fund transit and eliminate the IDA MRT exemption.

NYPTA's Position: NYPTA SUPPORTS an increase in the Mortgage Recording Tax (MRT) for counties within the districts of the four upstate regional systems and dedicate the overall additional revenue to upstate STOA. Currently, each authority receives .25% of the MRT on a district by district basis. NYPTA also supports Article VII legislation to eliminate the ability of an Industrial Development Agency to grant an exemption on the additional portion that is dedicated to transit systems. It is critical to transit that an MRT increase be included in the final negotiated budget.

• Reject Proposed Language to Weaken the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) Waiver language.

NYPTA's Position: NYPTA SUPPORTS the Executives Article VII legislation to allow waivers of costly retrofit mandates for buses within three years of their retirement/useful life will save non-MTA transit properties over $5.8 million - preserving over 80,000 existing service hours for upstate systems providing some relief for the overburdened State operating and capital funds. The MTA is expected to save $30+ million dollars. We are concerned that that Assembly's DERA language, which gives the DEC Commissioner discretion to issue waivers on a per bus basis, will be extremely difficult to navigate. While we appreciate the consideration of this issue by both houses, the Assembly proposal will be too cumbersome to implement as it does away with the application process and is on a per engine basis.

• Support enforcement of city restrictions on bus lane usage.

NYPTA's Position: In order provide needed revenue and enhance bus transit performance within the City of New York, NYPTA strongly supports Article VII legislation, included in the Executive Budget and supported by the Senate Budget Resolution, though absent the Assembly budget proposal, to authorize the City of New York to establish a Bus Rapid Transit and Bus Mobility Demonstration Program that would utilize photo devices similar to red-light cameras to identify and penalize owners of motor vehicles found to be in violation of City restrictions on the use of bus lanes. Implementation of this program will significantly reduce bus lane congestion and allow the MTA to provide more efficient and effective transit for the City's millions of residents and visitors. NYPTA strongly urges the Legislature include this measure in the final negotiated budget.

Your Legislators Can Be Reached Through the Following Phone Numbers:

ASSEMBLY SWITCHBOARD: 518-455-4100

SENATE SWITCHBOARD: 518-455-2800

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