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Weekly UpdatesThe Joint Legislative Conference Committee on Budget Reform has announced an agreement that would fundamentally change the budget process in the State of New York to help achieve an on-time budget and put a contingency budget in place in the event that a budget is not adopted by the legal deadline. In addition, the budget reform agreement would provide more time for budget negotiations, greater detail and better disclosure, and increased public input.
"I am very proud of the work done by the members of the Conference Committee because they have taken one of the most complex and contentious issues we face, persevered through many meetings and discussions, and reached an agreement that will make dramatic changes to the state budget process to help ensure an on-time budget," said Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno. "After pursuing budget reform for more than a decade, the Senate is ready to put this agreement into legislation and pass it as soon as possible to improve the process to make it more timely and predictable."
The agreement was announced the same day that New York failed to adopt a budget on time--for the 20th consecutive year. Budget watchdogs were quick to deride the reforms as insufficient. Diana Fortuna, president of the Citizens Budget Commission, lauded the efforts to make the budget process more transparent, but said the other proposed reforms failed to promote fiscal responsibility.
"There is no proposal that the adopted budget be balanced in any meaningful way, and there is no change that will constrain the state's enormous appetite for debt," Fortuna said.
Key reforms in the Conference Committee's 12-point agreement include changing the start of the fiscal year from April 1 to May 1, requiring earlier submission of the executive budget, increasing reserve funds to 5 percent of all state funds, developing a three-year financial plan, and appropriating education aid for two years instead of one.
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