Albany lawmakers have approved Governor David Paterson’s latest budget extender, essentially avoiding a shutdown of state government.

The measure passed the State Senate by a vote of 34-to-27.

The bill includes some $327 million in cuts to mental health and social services, to help bridge the state’s $9.2 billion budget gap.

Earlier in the day, Republican Senator Hugh Farley of Schenectady called Paterson’s bill “horrible,” but said he would vote for it to prevent a shutdown.

Republican Senators Roy McDonald of Saratoga and Charles Fuschillo Jr. of Long Island also crossed party lines to approve the measure.

Their votes offset the planned “no” vote by Bronx Senator Ruben Diaz Sr.

“They did the right thing and I thank them for that,” said the governor.

Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada had threatened to vote against the bill if the governor continued to include permanent spending cuts in the weekly bills, but Espada said yesterday that progress was made over the weekend and he now expects the bill to pass.

Paterson says the cuts are necessary to avoid further economic crisis in the state.

“This is the Legislature voting on the fact that they’ve been here over two months and have abdicated their responsibility to pass a budget,” said Paterson. “They have never put a budget on my desk and the state’s running out of money.”

“We have to keep in mind that there are other levels of government that are waiting to made big decisions on their budgets, their spending, based on what they’re going to get from state government,” said State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. “So there’s a lot riding on these decisions that need to made. Everybody knows it’s difficult, especially at a time when you’re talking about cuts, but decisions have to be made so we can all move forward.”

In anticipation of a possible shutdown, state agencies had already begun putting employees on notice.

Outside the Midtown Department of Motor Vehicles office, which would have closed Tuesday, New Yorkers told NY1 that Albany should just pass a state budget to prevent the crises over extender bills.

“To make excuses, keep putting it off… in college, if you put something off, you fail the class. I feel like right now, Albany is failing the class of government,” said one local.

“It’s a very reactive approach, I think they’re just reacting to what’s going on, as opposed to going in there and really doing their homework,” said another.

The state budget was originally due on April 1.

What Would Happen During A Shutdown?
There are still questions of what a shutdown would mean. According to the governor’s and state comptroller’s offices, a shutdown could include:

• The suspension of lottery games and other nonessential services like the Department of Motor Vehicles, plus the closure of parks, campgrounds, courts and unemployment offices.
• Social service payments, including welfare and food stamps, would be frozen.
• 153,000 state employees would not get paid on June 23, as scheduled.
• Prisons and state police would likely see their staffing reduced.

(Source: NY1)