Senators have discussed using $391 million in federal stimulus money for education that was supposed to be used in 2010-11 so they don’t have to make the $686 million in reductions that this governor has called for in his deficit-reduction plan. Besides being leery on education cuts the governor wants to make, they are also reluctant to make health-care reductions, he said.

   Paterson, who spoke after a holding a private conference call with state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch and other members of his administration, said he continues to have a difficult time convincing senators and Assembly members of the severity of New York’s fiscal crisis.

   “Our conclusion is that if we pass the deficit-reduction plan as we proposed it … we would still just be squeaking by December, barely able to meet our financial obligations. The comptroller pointed out that in March, there are other financial obligations to the tune of $13 billion to $14 billion, which we must pay, and we will not have presumably passed our 2010-2011 budget at that time,” Paterson said. “So we are in dire financial circumstances.”

   The governor said his administration believes that Democrats, who control the Assembly, and Republicans in that chamber understand the severity of the crisis. But Albany’s political atmosphere prevents lawmakers from being “particularly forthcoming” about where they would cut.

   Paterson said he believes Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, is “very clear about his willingness to comply with what would be a deficit-reduction plan that would keep us from having to make drastic decisions.”

   Paterson criticized the Senate, where the GOP, which is in the minority, released a plan that would not cut health care and would reduce education funding by $100 million. Senate Democrats have said they agree with Republicans on about $2.6 billion of the GOP’s deficit-reduction plan. Paterson said the Republican plan overestimates what the state could reap from boosting its Medicaid-fraud detection efforts.

   “I think it’s irresponsible. I think it’s totally out of line with where the state is,” the governor said. “The Senate Democrats I guess hesitate putting out a plan because they don’t want to be attacked for even addressing a dime of school-aid cuts.”

   Paterson described what’s happening as “basically fiddling while Rome is burning.”

   “Take note, senators. This is not a cash-flow problem. This is a cash problem,” he added soon after.

   If lawmakers don’t pass a deficit-reduction plan, the state might have to delay payments to school districts and pension plans and for property-tax relief could be delayed, Paterson said.

“1 agree with Governor Paterson’s statement today that the Legislature should be acting on a deficit reduction plan today, instead of waiting until Monday.  The only problem is he has not submitted a bill we can act on, as Senate Republicans called on him to do Thursday,” said Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos, R-Nassau County.

When asked today why he hasn’t put his budget-cutting plan up for a vote, Paterson said he has. They can vote on it any time they’d like, he said.

Skelos said that Senate Democrats and Republicans have agreed on budget actions that would reduce the budget deficit by $2.6 billion, as opposed to Paterson’s $3.2 billion plan. Democrats hold a 32-30 seat majority.

“The only roadblock to an agreement is Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver who has yet to publicly issue a single proposal to reduce state spending,” Skelos stated.

Skelos has continued to criticize Silver. They’ve sparred at recent leaders’ meetings.

“When Democrats left Albany, Republicans stayed at the Capitol, ready to go into session to pass a plan,” Skelos said. “The governor should stop pounding the table, do his job and stop worrying about his poll numbers so that we can get a final agreement. ”

Here’s Skelos’ full statement:

STATEMENT BY SENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER DEAN SKELOS

I agree with Governor Paterson’s statement today that the Legislature should be acting on a deficit reduction plan today, instead of waiting until Monday. The only problem is he has not submitted a bill we can act on, as Senate Republicans called on him to do Thursday.

Senate Republicans unveiled a detailed deficit reduction plan that included spending cuts that even the Governor has acknowledged are real and substantive. Our plan also includes other savings proposed by the Governor that are acceptable to Democrats and Republicans in the Senate that would reduce the budget deficit by $2.6 billion.

Senate Democrats have embraced our plan. Much of Governor Paterson’s deficit-closing measures are included in the place so I expect he would support it. The only roadblock to an agreement is Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver who has yet to publicly issue a single proposal to reduce state spending.

For the past month, no one in Albany has done more than Senate Republicans to push for a solution that would close the $3.2 billion budget deficit. We were the only legislative conference to issue a detailed plan to cut state spending and close the budget gap. We were the first conference to oppose mid-year school aid cuts that would result in property taxes. We were the first legislators to oppose any tax increases to close the deficit.

When Democrats left Albany, Republicans stayed at the Capitol, ready to go into session to pass a plan. The Governor should stop pounding the table, do his job and stop worrying about his poll numbers so that we can get a final agreement. The Assembly has produced nothing more than talk while Senate Republicans have provided leadership and pushed to get a fiscally responsible result that reduces state spending, now and in the future.

Senate Republicans, who called for enactment of a state spending cap as part of a plan to address the state budget deficit, passed a spending cap bill twice last year with bipartisan support and I am pleased the Governor said he would join us and get one in place by year’s end.

Taxpayers are angry over increased spending and taxes and frustrated by the inaction in Albany. We shouldn’t have to wait until Monday to fix a problem that could have been resolved yesterday.

   Paterson ordered a total of $500 million in mid-year budget cuts at state agencies, part of his strategy to close a $3.2 billion budget gap. Agencies can offer the severance packages as a means of helping them make the reductions.

   “It has come to our attention that thousands of employees expressed an interest in participating in the program, but certain agencies chose not to accept these employees into the program,” Budget Director Robert Megna wrote in a letter to commissioners.

   “As you are aware, the State continues to face serious fiscal challenges. To address this situation, the Governor has instructed agencies to aggressively offer severances to reduce the State workforce and maximize savings,” Megna wrote.

   Megna said commissioners should “make every effort to increase the utilization of the Severance Program.” Employees have to file applications under the extension by Dec. 22.

   The Budget Division doesn’t have final numbers of how many employees ultimately took the buyout but expects to know sometime around the beginning of next month, said Matt Anderson, Paterson budget spokesman.
Agency Severance Letter

   “Right now, Andrew Cuomo has a clear path to become governor,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College poll. “If he could fast-forward to next November, I’m sure he would.”

   The poll is being released a day after Republican officials confirmed that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is not going to run for governor. The poll found that Cuomo has a lead over former U.S. Rep. Rick Lazio in addition to Paterson. Lazio is the only Republican who has announced he is running for the seat.

   If Lazio ran against Cuomo today, Cuomo would win by a 3-to-1 margin—69 percent to 24 percent, the poll found. If Lazio ran against Paterson, 44 percent of the electorate would support Paterson and 44 percent would choose Lazio. Twelve percent are undecided.

   Cuomo has not announced whether he intends to run and Paterson has said he will stay in the race, despite his paltry poll numbers.

   Marist found that 63 percent of registered voters don’t want Paterson to run for governor and 30 percent want him to be in the race. In a Marist poll two months ago, 63 percent of voters surveyed said they wanted Paterson to drop out and 25 percent wanted him to continue his campaign.

   When asked about Paterson’s extensive television media campaign, 65 percent of voters who had seen one of the ads said Paterson should not run for governor.

   Sixty-six percent of voters think Cuomo is doing an excellent or good job and 6 percent said he is doing poorly. Paterson is at the other end of the spectrum. One-fifth of registered voters think he’s doing an excellent or good job and 35 percent said he is performing poorly. That’s better than a few months ago, when 17 percent approved of his performance and 44 percent said he was doing poorly.

   Marist surveyed 805 voters Nov. 12 and this Monday and Tuesday. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percent.

A report from Moody’s Investors Service this week, meanwhile, said the state could lose its stable credit rating “if there is no action taken by the state to close the gap, or if action is taken but is largely one-time in nature (therefore increasing the structural imbalance in the out years).”

Paterson is at odds with lawmakers over cutting aid to schools and health care to help close a $3.2 billion mid-year budget gap. After four days of failed negotiations in Albany, lawmakers went home Thursday and plan to return Monday.

But Paterson continued his tough talk today against legislators who don’t want to make cuts. He said spending reductions now would also help lower the deficit next fiscal year, which he estimated may be at $9 billion. The current fiscal year expires March 31.

Come late December, the state faces running out of money if cuts aren’t made, he and other state officials said. That means the state would have to borrow and possibly delay payments to local governments in schools.

Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli warned today that the state faces a $1.4 billion cash deficit next month. Paterson said that if all the state’s money was pooled together next month and all the bills were paid, the state would have about $30 million in the bank – a remarkably low amount for a state with a $132 billion budget.

“We can’t afford to fall back on the old ways of addressing a long-standing problem with short-term fixes,” DiNapoli said. “It hasn’t worked, and it won’t work. A patch today is a problem tomorrow.”
Without close the budget gap, Paterson said New York would have resort to what other states have done, such as laying off state workers, instituting unpaid weeks off or even eliminating programs, such as early childhood programs and pre-kindergarten classes.

“I’ve been telling you what happened in the other states,” Paterson told reporters this morning. “That’s what we’re going to have to do. I told you that 26 states shut down their early childhood education and pre-kindergarten programs, and that’s what we’re going to have to do.”

Paterson said he spoke to legislative leaders this morning to advise them of the dire predictions. But he said lawmakers have so far offered no cuts to schools and only about $100 million in cuts to health care. Paterson has proposed about $1.3 billion in cuts.

“I think this is a lot more serious than the interest of some of the legislators who would rather go home and be heroes saying look I didn’t cut school aid or look I didn’t cut health care,” Paterson said.Nys Go Report 1109

DiNapoli said his office will release a report that shows New York faces a cash-flow deficit of up to $1.4 billion in late December, higher than projections from Gov. David Paterson’s budget office.

It means the state is running out of money to pay its bills, DiNapoli warned. Paterson’s office last month predicted a $1.1 billion cash-flow deficit in late December.

“The state does run the risk of running out of cash in a significant way in December,” DiNapoli told Gannett’s Albany bureau. “It really underscores the need for the governor and the Legislature to come together on a deficit-reduction plan.”

DiNapoli urged that spending cuts need to be part of the budget deal, which so far lawmakers have resisted.

Without a budget-cutting plan, state officials said New York may have to delay payments to schools and local governments or borrow to pay its bills, which would hurt the state’s credit rating and its ability to borrow money.

The state has been dipping into a fund controlled by the comptroller called a Short Term Investment Pool, which mainly invests in short-term treasury bills and allows the state to borrow from it to pay monthly bills. But even that fund faces being almost depleted by the end of the year, officials said.

“We’re on a razor’s edge when it comes to cash flow in December in terms of the resources of the Short Term Investment Pool,” said Paterson’s budget spokesman Matt Anderson.

   Among registered voters, Giuliani would get 60 percent to Paterson’s 35 percent, according to the poll. But Cuomo would get 53 percent and Giuliani would garner 43 percent of the vote in a hypothetical matchup.

   If Giuliani ran for U.S. Senate, which he has not ruled out as a possibility, he would have more of a chance of success. Fifty-four percent of voters said they would vote for Giuliani, a Republican, over freshman Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat. One-third of Democrats surveyed said they would opt for Giuliani.

   Marist found that if a GOP primary for U.S. Senate were held today, 71 percent of voters would choose Giuliani, compared to 24 percent for former Gov. George Pataki, who has also been talked about as a potential candidate.

   Republican Rick Lazio is considering a run for governor, so not having Giuliani in the picture would help Lazio. Lazio, a former U.S. representative, would garner 13 percent of the GOP vote compared to 84 percent for Giuliani, according to Marist.

   “It’s good news for Andrew Cuomo and Rick Lazio but potentially a huge problem for Kirsten Gillibrand,” Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Poll, said in a statement. “If Giuliani were to capture the U.S. Senate seat from heavily Democratic New York State, it would return him to the national spotlight big time.”

   Senate Majority Leader John Sampson, D-Brooklyn, set the next session for 10 a.m. Monday.

   “We fully expect that a three-way agreement will be reached by Monday morning,” said Travis Proulx, a spokesman for Senate Democrats.

   Senate Republicans, who hold 30 of the chamber’s 62 seats, held a news conference this afternoon to present a compromise plan for closing the budget gap by $3.15 billion. 

   “Rather than continuing to try to reach an agreement, the Democrats have gone home,” Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos, R-Nassau County, said at a news conference.

   Silver blamed the lack of progress on the Senate GOP.

   “The major holdup is Senator Skelos refuses to participate, refuses to provide one Republican vote,” Silver said.

   Skelos said that is not true.

The New York Times reported Giuliani will not run for governor, and the Daily News is reporting he’s going to run for Senate.

There is no official word from Giuliani’s camp, but a spokeswoman said a statement is expected soon. On Sunday, Giuliani wouldn’t say what he would do.

A top Republican official confirmed Giuliani’s decision not to run for governor, saying instead that Giuliani is considering running for U.S. Senate next year against Democratic Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand.

“He is clearly not interested in running for governor, but he is seriously looking at running for the Senate,” the source said.

The news was not surprising to Republican leaders across the state, who long believed that Giuliani was not poised to run for governor.

On Monday night, Giuliani gave a speech to the Molinari Republican Club in Staten Island. Attendees said the speech was geared toward national politics.

“In all honesty, his speech that he gave, which was very good, was more of a national speech, like he was going to run for United States Senate or president again,” said Conservative Party chairman Michael Long.

“It was clear he was not going to run for governor.”

Some county GOP chairmen said they hadn’t heard directly yet that Giuliani wasn’t going to run, but said they are pleased he’s deciding now so the party can focus in on other candidates.

“If this is actually true, I’m delighted it’s now and not a few months in the future,” said Monroe County GOP chairman Bill Reilich.

Rockland County GOP chairman Vincent Reda said the party will have strong candidates on its statewide ticket next year.

Rick “Lazio has already announced, and I’m sure there will be some others looking for the top spot,” Reda said. “I think things look a little brighter for us in the state since this last election period.”

As for Lazio, the only announced GOP candidate, he’s focused on his campaign, a spokesman said.

“we don’t what mayor Giuliani’s plans are,” said spokesman Barney Keller. “We just know that Rick Lazio is running for governor and if elected, he will enact sweeping fundamental changes to state government.”

Paterson said he continues to get pushback from state senators, Democrats and Republicans, over his plan to cut aid to schools and health care.

Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, said he’s telling his conference to return to Albany on Monday – signaling that a deal is not near.

“It’s likely we’ll be back next week,” Silver said on WGDJ-AM (1300) in Albany.

Paterson has kept lawmakers in Albany every day this week to get a budget deal in advance of about $6 billion in payments due in December to schools and local governments. Paterson said the state only has about $3 billion to pay the bills.

“Some of the legislators, I must say, do understand this crisis,” Paterson said on WOR-AM (710) in Manhattan. “They tell it to me. They want to get out of here and balance the budget. Others think of excuses.”

The trouble, Paterson suggested, lies in the state Senate, where Democrats hold a narrow 32-30 seat majority. A number of Democratic senators oppose cuts in school spending, while Republicans have not indicated a willingness to go along with Paterson’s budget plan. Paterson has proposed about $1.3 billion in cuts, mainly to schools and health care.

Paterson said some lawmakers want to link cuts to a cap on state spending, which Senate Republicans support but is not backed by Assembly Democrats. Senate Democrats, meanwhile, want no cuts to schools and are proposing inflated revenue projections from the potential collection of taxes on Native American reservations, Paterson charged.

“You wonder how you get a negotiation going on with that kind of element injecting itself in the process, obviously trying to placate other interests,” Paterson said.

Senate Democrats have proposed about $650 million in cuts, mainly to health care, but would leave schools harmless. Legislative officials contend that Paterson is seeking about $850 million in cuts as a compromise.

Silver put the blame on Senate Republicans, suggesting that Democrats don’t have the 32 votes in its conference to pass a budget agreement.

“The Republicans are not interested in governing. They’re all about politics,” he said. “They are all about rhetoric and the people will not be fooled by that.”

Senate Republicans countered that Silver hasn’t offered any proposals publicly to close the budget gap, while the other legislative conferences have.

“The speaker has not put anything on the table,” said John McArdle, spokesman for Senate Republicans. “What the speaker has admitted is what everyone has known that he has no proposals to close the deficit.”

The state Court of Appeals rejected a Christian legal group’s claim that the extension of benefits to gay couples was illegal based on current state law.

But the court stopped short of declaring same-sex marriage in New York legal, saying that such a decision should be left to the state Legislature. The state Senate has yet to pass the measure.

“We end … expressing our hope that the Legislature will address this controversy,” the ruling found.

The Alliance Defense Fund of Scottsdale, Ariz. argued that since same-sex marriage is not legal in New York, state and local governments should not extend equal benefits to gay couples.

The group lost in lower courts, which ruled that extending the benefits does not conflict with current laws.

In June 2006, Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano issued an executive order that the county would recognize out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples. In 2007, the state agreed to allow gay couples married out of state and employed by New York and some local governments to receive health benefits for their families.

The Court of Appeals rejected the challenges by the Alliance Defense Fund, but was split on their
reasons why.

In a written opinion, Judge Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick warned that the patchwork regulations by different state and local government are unwieldy.

“The effect of the majority’s rationale in affirming these orders,” she wrote, “will be to permit an unworkable pattern of conflicting executive and administrative directives promulgated pursuant to the individual discretion of each agency head.”

Marriage Ruling

   Faced with pressure from county clerks and residents, Gov. David Paterson and legislative leaders agreed over the weekend that the state would not require the old plates to be replaced. However, production of the new Empire Gold plates is still on track, which prompted 31 county clerks to send a letter to the governor today.

   The governor’s administration had said new plates were necessary because reflectivity was wearing off on the current ones. Paterson admitted this week that the real reason for the plate replacement program was to raise money for the state. The measure was passed as part of the current budget. The governor and legislative leaders said they would make up the money the state will not get elsewhere in the budget.

   The clerks submitted petitions with more than 100,000 signatures collected from people who oppose the new program.

   Counties whose clerks signed the letter include Broome,  Chemung, Cortland, Dutchess, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Steuben, Tioga and Tompkins.

   This is a copy of the letter they sent today: 

Dear Governor Paterson:

We were greatly troubled to read published reports that the State, at your direction, plans to proceed with the manufacture of the new Empire Gold license plates, despite commitments by you and legislative leaders on both sides of the political aisle to scrap the controversial reissuance plan (“Paterson admits license fee was a ‘revenue grab,’ ” Democrat and Chronicle, Nov. 18).

County Clerks from across the State have gathered more than 100,000 names of New Yorkers who are opposed to the license plate reissue, through online and paper petitions that were delivered to you and legislative supporters of the original plan. The people of the state have spoken up that and said that they don’t want the Empire Gold plates, nor do they feel that the reissuance plan was justified by Albany’s desire for more revenue.

Facing a $3.2 billion budget gap, and in light of the Legislature’s pledge to undo the license plate mandate, it makes no sense that you should continue to produce these plates, at a cost to the state that you have placed at $32 million.

County Clerks respectfully ask that you rescind the order to begin manufacturing the new plates pending legislative action on the repeal of this ill-advised plan.

County Clerks have proposed additional ways to cut state spending and improve government efficiency to help deal with the budget deficit, and we await your response to our request for a meeting to discuss these and other ideas.

Sincerely,

Patricia A. Ritchie

St. Lawrence County Clerk, President, NYS Association of County Clerks

Richard R. Blythe, Broome County Clerk

James Griffith, Cattaraugus County Clerk

Susan Dwyer, Cayuga County Clerk

Sandra K. Sopak, Chautauqua County Clerk

Catherine K. Hughes, Chemung County Clerk

John H. Zurlo, Clinton County Clerk

Elizabeth Larkin, Cortland County Clerk

Bradford Kendall, Dutchess County Clerk

Kathleen Hochul, Erie County Clerk

Joseph Provoncha, Essex County Clerk

Don M. Read, Genesee County Clerk

Michael Flynn, Greene County Clerk

Jane S. Zarecki, Hamilton County Clerk

Sylvia M. Rowan, Herkimer County Clerk

JoAnn Wilder, Jefferson County Clerk

Douglas P. Hanno, Lewis County Clerk

James A. Culberston, Livingston County Clerk

Cheryl Dinolfo, Monroe County Clerk

Wayne F. Jagow, Niagara County Clerk

Sandra J. DePerno, Oneida County Clerk

M. Ann Ciarpelli, Onondaga County Clerk

John H. Cooley, Ontario County Clerk

George J. Williams, Oswego County Clerk

Frank Merola, Rensselaer County Clerk

Kathleen Marchione, Saratoga County Clerk

Indy Jaycox, Schoharie County Clerk

Judith M. Hunter, Steuben County Clerk

Robert Woodburn, Tioga County Clerk

Aurora R. Valenti, Tompkins County Clerk

Dona Crandall, Washington County Clerk

“I feel that we are continuing to negotiate and we are just going to have to lock this down as soon as we can,” Paterson told reporters after announcing a deal on public authorities reform.

As for whether he’ll keep the Legislature in town until a deal is reached: “I’m not going to make any long-term threats, but as you’ve noticed although it has not been done, we continue to work.

“Some officials said the sides are about $200 million apart, but Paterson urged that it’s not about hitting the $3.2 billion target as much as it is establishing recurring budget savings.

He has proposed cutting $1.3 billion in state spending, mainly through cuts to schools and health care. Senate Democrats have balked at the cuts, instead offering about $600 million in cuts to areas other than education.

“To me, it isn’t the quantitative agreement on a number,” the Democratic governor said. “It’s the quality of actually hitting the target in ways that will be real and recurring.”

He said the bill removes some of his initial concerns, such as requiring authorities to sell land at fair market value no matter the use and not giving authority board members autonomy on local issues.

“Our state representatives in Albany deserve a lot of credit for dramatically improving a public authorities reform bill that, as initially drafted, would have done more harm than good,” Bloomberg said in a statement.

“We have always supported reform of the public authorities, but we had major concerns about the consequences the original bill would have produced.”

They’ve passed legislation that would let local governments make it easier to form cooperative health-benefit plans and other consolidations and eliminated a loophole that allows certain serious felons to become eligible for parole earlier than intended.  And they have passed a municipal energy-loan program to help homeowners make energy efficiency improvements.

Today, Paterson signed “Leandra’s Law,” a tougher DWI law. It is named after 11-year-old Leandra Rosado, who died last month in an accident in Manhattan as a passenger in a vehicle whose driver was drunk, police said.

“We have now given law-enforcement officials the tools they need to keep people who act with such reckless disregard for human life off the roadways of our state,” Paterson said at the bill signing.

Assemblyman David Koon, D-Perinton, Monroe County, said he submitted legislation 6 1/2 years ago to make DWI with a child in a car a felony, which the new law does. Koon, whose daughter was murdered in 1993, said he was frustrated that it took so long for the measure to become law.

“You know how I feel about kids and losing a child and it just tries me nuts,” Koon said outside the Assembly chambers. “Nobody would even touch” the bill.

Paterson and legislative leaders are now announcing a deal to reform the state’s public authorities. They are scheduled to go into session tonight to pass the bill.

But still no deal on a deficit-reduction plan. And Paterson’s other major agenda item—legalizing same-sex marriage—remains on hold.

   The legislation will strengthen and expand the powers of the authorities budget office, including providing the power to issue subpoenas and report criminal activities; require that the state comptroller review any contracts of more than $1 million, and ones under $1 million upon request; create strict rules to control public-authority debt; limit the creation of authority subsidiaries; and implement whistle-blower protections for employees of authorities.

   Brodsky said public authorities are a “rogue” system and have been run like a  “Soviet-style bureaucracy.” Some of the larger ones include the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Thruway Authority. 

   “This is the end of that era,” he said.

   A public-authority reform bill signed in 2005 by then-Gov. George Pataki  was about one-third of what he and other lawmakers wanted, Brodsky said.

   Another provision of the bill would require anyone convicted of drunken driving to install an ignition-interlock system on their car, which prevents intoxicated drivers from starting a vehicle. They would have to have the systems in their vehicles for at least six months.

   Leandra’s Law, as the legislation is called, is named after 11-year-old Leandra Rosado, who died in a car accident in Manhattan last month while a passenger in a vehicle whose driver was drunk, police have said.

   Also cited in passing the law was a fatal crash on the Taconic Parkway in Westchester County last July. Diane Schuler of Long Island drove the wrong way on the parkway and killed herself, four of the five children in her vehicle and three men in an SUV. The autopsy found she was drunk and high on marijuana.

   Under the legislation, which Gov. David Paterson has said he will sign, it would be a felony to drive with a passenger under 15 while intoxicated with a blood-alcohol-content level of .08 (the legal limit) or above.

   Under current law, there is no additional penalty if a drunk driver has a child passenger. The penalty would be higher if a child passenger was injured in a drunken-driving accident.

   When asked if New York’s $3.2 billion budget shortfall is a major problem, 88 percent said yes and 11 percent said they believe it is a minor problem. Only 1 percent said it’s not an issue at all.

   “Voters are paying attention to the budget problems in Albany and they’re not happy with what they’re seeing,” Marist Poll Director Lee Miringoff said in a statement.

   Gov. David Paterson called lawmakers back to Albany last week and this week to deal with the state’s $3.2 billion shortfall. Paterson has warned that if the problem is not taken care of very soon, New York could be short on money to pay its bills next month. They are still trying to negotiate a deal.

   Seventy percent of voters told Marist they blamed the state Legislature for the state’s fiscal woes, while 21 percent said Paterson was at fault. But, 64 percent of voters disapprove of how Paterson is dealing with the budget and 28 percent approve. The split was similar in September, the last time Marist asked voters that question.

   As for how Paterson is handling the state’s economic crisis, 63 percent said they disapprove and 30 percent gave him the thumbs up, similar to how voters answered that question in September, the poll found.

   Marist surveyed 805 voters last Thursday and Monday and Tuesday of this week. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percent.

   Since state and local governments cannot run a deficit, as the federal government can, they have to make up the other $331 billion in spending cuts and tax increases. Those actions depress consumer demand, cause job losses (mostly in the private sector) and create  a “drag on the economy,” the report said. 

   States have drawn down their rainy day funds and face a $357 billion total budget shortfall for the 2010 and 2011 fiscal years. Local governments are dealing with an $80 billion shortfall, the group found.

   New York faces a mid-year budget deficit of $3.2 billion, and lawmakers are in Albany this week trying to figure out how to remedy that. Gov. David Paterson has said he is against using the state’s $1.2 billion rainy day fund. Lawmakers and the governor have agreed they don’t want to increase any taxes or fees.

   The Economic Policy Institute said spending cuts would be harmful to the economy, in part because they hit low-income individuals disproportionately. Those individuals cut their spending, which results in lower sales for businesses, which then cut wages or lay off workers. Each dollar of spending reduction by state and local governments leads to $1.41 in lost economic activity, the group said.

   According to the institute, current and future budget shortfalls will lead to millions of job losses and likely contribute to a drawn-out and painful recovery. 

But the report by The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, titled “Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States,” found that New York was among four states – along with Delaware, Washington D.C. and Vermont—that has the least regressive tax system.

The report explains that New York and the District of Columbia have a “close-to-flat tax system overall” because it has an Earned Income Tax Credit and an income tax with “relatively high top rates.”

It notes that ten states – Washington, Florida, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Illinois, Arizona,
Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Alabama – have the most regressive taxes.

Unions pushed New York earlier this year to raise income taxes on people who make more than $250,000 a year as a way to generate—what lawmakers estimated at the time—was $4 billion in new revenue for the state. But with the recession and people leaving New York, the revenue has been much lower.

Here’s the Fiscal Policy Institute’s take on New York’s standing in the report, from their press release:

“I don’t know why people are walking around here saying we’re very close to a deal. I don’t know why people think they’re leaving here, and I don’t know why it is so difficult to understand that we have a fiduciary responsibility to the people of New York,” Paterson said.

“We have obligations that have to be met in December and the only way to reduce this deficit is real and recurring cuts, not gimmicks or phony estimates of revenues that don’t exist,” he continued.

He vowed to keep them in town until a deal is reached.

“Now there are a lot of unhappy people leaving the building this evening because they’re coming back tomorrow,” he said. “This is a prelude to what will be continued unhappiness because it reflects the way this entire state will be if we don’t handle its finances, which are in very dire straits right now.”

He added, “So I would expect that people get back in here tomorrow and stop making plans because I’m making the plan. The plan is that we’re going to keep working until we get this done.”

Paterson has vowed to keep lawmakers in Albany until a deal is reached, but three days of special sessions over the past week has not produced a compromise. Paterson would not indicate Tuesday how long he plans to keep legislators in town.

Paterson insisted the deficit needs to be closed with spending cuts, saying that one-shot revenue sources won’t solve the state’s long-term fiscal problems.  In addition to the mid-year budget gap, the state faces a $6.8 billion deficit next fiscal year, which Paterson predicted could grow to $8 billion to $9 billion.

Paterson held two closed-door sessions with legislative leaders Tuesday in hopes of reaching an agreement.

Legislative leaders suggested they may be agreeable to cutting less than the $3.2 billion proposed by Paterson to at least address the state’s immediate financial problems. Paterson has warned that the state faces running out of money next month.

Paterson suggested that the important piece is that cuts adopted would be recurring, meaning it would help alleviate future deficits. But he also indicated he could accept a deal that’s less than $3.2 billion in deficit reduction measures.

Here’s the governor’s comments after the first leaders’ meeting.

Governor Paterson on DRP from Gannett Albany Bureau on Vimeo.

   “We are facing not only a fiscal crisis here in New York state, but a rising crisis in ethical misconduct,” said Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union.   Citizens Union and other good-government groups—Common Cause/NY, the League of Women Voters and the New York Public Interest Research Group—said the report’s findings demonstrate there is a need for ethics reform. Citizens Union found that most investigations that resulted in turnover have been initiated by law enforcement and not existing ethics oversight bodies.

   “It felt like things were getting worse, but now actually there is empirical data to prove it,” said Blair Horner, legislative director for NYPIRG.

   The Assembly passed what the civic groups called a “modest ethics reform” bill earlier this year, and the Senate’s bill goes further than the Assembly. The two houses “appear to be working together to agree on final language,” according to the groups.

   Any final bill should include the following, the organizations said:

  —Safeguards that bar lobbyists, former officials and other interested parties from serving on ethics oversight bodies.

  —An appointment process that fosters independent oversight.

  —Reasonable, reliable and informative, and transparent financial disclosures.

  —Significant investigative and enforcement powers, including in the area of campaign financing, and reasonable audit procedures.

Gov. David Paterson today said that the controversial new $25 fee on license plates was nothing more than a “revenue grab” and said people do not need new plates early.

The state hoped to bring in $129 million in new revenue by forcing drivers to get new plates when their vehicles’ registrations expire. Paterson said the state moved up by a year the requirement for new plates in order to raise revenue in the face of the state’s budget woes.

“Is that an idea that in a normal circumstance would make any sense? No, it doesn’t make any sense because people don’t need license plates early,” Paterson said on WWRL-AM (1600) in New York City.

“It was a revenue grab. We’re admitting it. And when so many people objected to it, we can’t argue with them and we’ll take it off the table. But when we take it off the table, somebody has got to find $129 million of cutting from the agencies to balance our books.”

His comments come after his staff had argued the new plates were needed not only to boost the state’s coffers but also because the current ones’ reflectivity is fading.

The reflectivity argument was debunked by county clerks, who petitioned the state to dump the new fee – which lawmakers and Paterson are expected to do.

Paterson and legislative leaders announced earlier this week that they would remove the fee, which they approved in April, if other revenue can be found. The new fee on plates – which would increase from $15 to $25 –- was scheduled to take effect in April.

County clerks submitted more than 100,000 signatures Monday asking the state to drop the fee.
But state officials indicated that they still plan to move forward with producing the new “Empire Gold” license plate—with dark blue and gold colors –- until a final deal is reached to find a new revenue stream.

Ulster County Clerk Nina Postupack said this morning that there’s no need to produce new plates, saying there is plenty of the current ones in stock. She said some states, like Massachusetts, haven’t changed plates in 20 years.

“It’s our understanding those plates (in New York) have been made for years to come,” she said.

Senate President Sen. Malcolm Smith, D-Queens, said the two sides are millions of dollars apart on a budget agreement, not billions. While Smith said the sides are close, he said an agreement might come out to less than $3.2 billion.

“The main thing is making sure that the cuts are fair, making sure that they don’t disproportionately hurt any particular group,” Smith said told reporters. “And that’s where we are.”

Smith said health care and mid-year school aid cuts are among the issues holding up an agreement.
Senate Democrats remain opposed to school aid cuts, he said.

“What we will do is get to a point where we will sit down with our members (and) we will look through everything. Health-care right now is a sticking point, there’s no question about it.”

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, told reporters that he’s ready to reach a deal “anytime they’re ready. Obviously, the hangup is not here,” referring to Senate Democrats.

Silver disagreed with the belief of some Senate Democrats that the state isn’t in jeopardy of running out of money.

“I don’t agree with them,” Silver said. “At some point, when there is $4 billion or $3.5 billion less cash than there is obligations, you’ll run out of money.”

He said schools can absorb some cuts but “obviously we have to be careful that we don’t burden the ones that can’t, but there are a number of them that have reserves.”

Assembly Republicans, meanwhile, presented a list of budget remedies this morning and dismissed Paterson’s criticism that lawmakers aren’t coming up with their own solutions.

“We believe the deficit is real,” said Assemblyman James Hayes, R-Amherst, the ranking Republican on the Ways and Means Committee. “The fact that majorities have retreated behind closed doors is an outrage.”

Kolb’s conference is rejecting cuts to education, health care and local aid mid-year, saying they could lead to property tax increases. They proposed a series of other measures, including:
—A 20 percent increase to out-of-state tuition for the State University of New York, which would raise $99 million mid-year.—An end to purchases of open space, which the conference says would save $30 million mid-year.—Agency efficiencies, which would cut $280 million.—A 5 percent cut to state contracts, which would save $300 million.—Elimination of extra spending by the legislature, which they say would generate $1.5 billion.—Allowing counties to decide which optional Medicaid programs to provide, which early estimates showed could save $1 billion, though conference staff thinks that figure is smaller with the amount of time that has passed already.—Elimination of the Indian Health Program, which would save $8 million.—Elimination of legislative earmarks, which would save $175 million.—Consolidate administrative agencies with overlapping functions, which would save $241 million.

The measure would also require people convicted of a DWI in New York, and every person convicted of a DWI-related crime, to have an ignition interlock installed as a condition of their sentence.

The Assembly and Senate said they’ve reached an agreement to pass the bill, called “Leandra’s Law.” It is named after 11-year-old Leandra Rosado, who died last month in an accident in Manhattan as a passenger in a vehicle whose driver police said was drunk.

The Assembly initially didn’t want to make it a felony for all drunk drivers who had a child in the car, only for those who had blood alcohol levels more than twice the legal limit of .08.

But after pressure, the Assembly said it would go ahead with the tougher law, which they said would be the toughest drunken driving law in the nation.

“If enacted, this bill will make our roads safer and ensure the security of our families,” said Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan.

The legislation would make it a felony to drive drunk with a passenger under age 15 with a blood alcohol level above .08. The law would carry a possible prison sentence of up to 1-1/3-to-4 years for a first offense.

Additionally, the law would require interlock devices that prevent intoxicated drivers from starting a vehicle. And if a convicted driver tries to bypass or tamper with the system, the law would consider that a crime.

Duffy said he hasn’t been approached by anyone about the position and dismissed it as speculation.

Here’s his statement:

“Last week I was interviewed by New York Times reporter Danny Hakim regarding speculation that I have been mentioned as a potential Lt. Governor candidate next year. As I said in the interview, I want to be very clear on a couple of things. I have never been approached by anyone, directly or indirectly about Lt. Governor position. While it is flattering to be mentioned for such a role, it is clearly just speculation on someone’s part and I must decline to respond to speculation and rumor.”

“I consider both the governor and the attorney general to be colleagues and friends. I have fully supported each of them in their vitally important jobs as they have supported me in my job.”

Paterson has indicated he plans to keep the state Legislature in Albany until a deal is complete, which lawmakers expect may still be days away. He has called another special session for Tuesday after ordering them to Albany last week for what ended up being a failed session.

Paterson has proposed $1.3 billion in cuts, mainly to education and health care, to close the gap. But Senate Democrats in particular have been opposed to the cuts and are seeking alternatives.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Carl Kruger, D-Brooklyn, hand delivered a letter to Paterson’s office Monday asking him to start taxing cigarettes sold on Native-American reservations.

Kruger claims the tax could generate up to $1.6 billion in revenue for the state, but state officials said it would be much less. The state has tried unsuccessfully for years to collect the tax from tribes.

Sen. Stephen Saland, R-Poughkeepsie, said collecting the tax is not a short-term solution to the state’s fiscal problems. He warned, as Paterson has, that the state faces running out of money.

“At some point we will run out of money. Maybe it won’t be by December 31, maybe it will be by January 31,” he said. “It’s not a question of if; it’s only a question of when if we don’t close the deficit.”
Kruger and other Senate Democrats said cuts to schools mid year would hurt classroom education.

“It’s my hope that there will not be education cuts, but I cannot say that will not happen,” said Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer, D-Mamaroneck, Westchester County.

Some Democrats have floated raising $1 billion through a temporary surcharge on HMOs, but Kruger said that would be coupled with a cap on premiums charged to health insurers. The proposal was sharply criticized by business groups, saying it would hurt companies and be another tax on New Yorkers.

“They will be committing the same fiscal sins of the past if they raise the taxes on health insurance,” said Brian Sampson, executive director of Unshackle Upstate.

Sampson and other business groups said spending cuts are needed. Paterson continued to urge Monday that cuts need to be part of an agreement.

“This is why the state is in so much trouble because we have a spending addiction that has overcome Albany for the last couple of decades,” Paterson said on WVTL-1570 AM based in Amsterdam, Montgomery County.

Kruger hand-delivered a letter to Paterson saying he should collect the taxes.

“We have an obligation as elected officials and as law-abiding New Yorkers to say that everybody has to pay their fair share. The denial of these taxes is no different than saying to somebody in Westchester County, ‘Don’t pay your property tax, and if you’re upset by that, then go out and picket on the Sprain Brook (Parkway).’”

Matt Anderson, spokesman for Paterson’s budget division, said his office estimated taxing the cigarettes would bring in a more modest $200 million to $300 million annually.

The “$1.6 billion is certainly on the high side,” said Matt Anderson, spokesman for Paterson’s budget division. “We don’t think it’s ultimately achievable.”

The letter comes after a New York Times article today said that Cuomo is already talking about a statewide ticket to run along with him as a gubernatorial candidate.

The article mentioned Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy as a potential lieutenant-governor candidate, and a source familiar with the Cuomo’s staff discussions said this morning said that Duffy and Cuomo have developed a strong rapport.

As for Lazio, part of his letter states:

“I am writing to ask that you and any associates that may be acting on your behalf stop trying to undermine the governor. If you think you can do a better job than Governor Paterson, why don’t you say so publically?,” Lazio wrote. “You’ve been in Albany for the past two and a half years, and you have been a part of Albany culture for decades, but have never taken on the failing legislative leadership when you could have.”

Barney Keller, Lazio’s spokesman, questioned the timing of the leak to the Times, saying it undermines Paterson’s ability to negotiate with lawmakers this week to close the state’s $3.2 billion deficit.

“You or your friends want to speculate about who is going to be your lieutenant governor? Fine. Can we do it after the governor’s done negotiating a $3.2 billion deficit reduction package?,” Keller said.

For his part, Paterson did a blitz of six radio stations this morning and was asked repeatedly about whether he will run for governor next year. He insisted he is.

On Buffalo station WBEN, Paterson was asked whether he would still run if he faces a primary against Cuomo.

“I can’t speculate on what anyone else is going to do,” Paterson said. “I’m running for governor. I obviously considered all those possibilities when I said I’m running for governor, and I’m running for governor.”

Here’s Lazio’s letter:

Rick Lazio Letter to Andrew Cuomo, 11-16-09