ALBANY, N.Y. — In order for the state payroll to keep flowing, the legislature had to pass something called an extender by 4 Monday afternoon. As of 5 p.m., the NYS Senate had passed it, but the Assembly had not.
But legislators still haven't passed the state budget, and lawmakers are expecting very long days this week in Albany.
Both Democrats and Republicans have proposed various versions of a gas tax holiday-suspending the gas tax for a chunk of time this year. Some legislators have expressed interest in including a measure like that in the budget.
Connecticut, Georgia, and Maryland have already decided to suspend theirs.
2 On Your Side talked with Republican State Senator Ed Rath Monday afternoon. We asked him if he thinks state gas tax relief will be included in the budget.
"It must be a part of the budget. This is 33.3 cents. That's the total amount that New York State controls. We should repeal all of those 33.3 cents and give that money back to the struggling taxpayers, businesses, and residents in New York State. My idea would be to do it 'til the end of the year, and that way there will be some relief at the pump," said NYS Senator Ed Rath.
Rath said some of the state surpluses could be used to cover what those taxes would pay for infrastructure-wise.
State Senator Rath says one of the primary things holding the budget up right now is bail reform. He says it's a policy issue, and he thinks it should be something that is talked about separately and not included in the budget.
"It is something that was proposed, a ten-point plan by the Governor. To me, it doesn't go far enough. We should repeal this altogether and start over. There's aspects of it that could be included, but right now, Western New York and other communities are much less safe because of the criminal justice reforms from several years ago. Judges don't have the discretion to determine if someone is a threat to society and use bail and also our DAs are struggling with all of the discovery compliance that they have to adhere to," says Rath.
In the final budget, we're expecting to see funding for the new Bills stadium. Rath says despite outcries from some downstate legislators, it's the cost of doing business to keep the Bills in Buffalo and this is standard for the NFL.
2 On Your Side asked Rath if he thinks people in Western New York have anything to worry about when it comes to the stadium deal.
"If you look at the state surplus right now, $5-billion according to the Governor. The state's portion of the money would only be 12-percent of that $5-billion surplus. I believe it provides a long-term return on investment. I'm working with all of my colleagues downstate. They might not see it the same way that we do, but I'm hopeful and I'm confident this is going to get done because it has to for the Bills to stay. Because if we don't get this done, there's a real risk that they could leave Western New York, and we would have a very hard time getting a team back in the future," says Rath.
Governor Hochul told reporters in Albany Monday afternoon that the Bills stadium deal is not going to be a problem in this budget.
2 On Your Side also reached out to Western New York's two Democratic State Senators to get their take on what's happening in Albany. A spokesperson for Sean Ryan told us he was booked Monday afternoon and we did not hear back from Tim Kennedy's office before our deadline.
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