Despite seeing April 1 come and go, the Assembly, Senate and governor have failed in their duty to pass an on-time budget, so we’ve been forced to vote on an extension so we may fulfill our obligations to the people of this state. Despite one-party control in all aspects of state government, there is no agreement or consensus on how to enact a state budget that works for all New Yorkers or a timeline for when that will actually happen.
Right now, supermajorities in both houses and the governor cannot agree on how much taxpayer money to spend, whether or not to allow judges to do their job to keep New Yorkers safe, if we should OK Hochul control and not local control when it comes to zoning decisions in our communities or creating a Ted Lasso tax on streaming services for upstate residents to pay for subway improvements for New York City residents.
What is worse is that all of these negotiations are happening in secret, behind closed doors, without the representatives of almost a third of New Yorkers involved. It is difficult to make our state spending of taxpayer dollars more efficient and effective if the voices of 33% of state residents are shut out of the process. We can do better and we must do better because the people of New York state are counting on us.
Assemblyman Josh Jensen
134th District
