Governor David A. Paterson has saved taxpayers $531.7 million over the next two years by vetoing bills that would have added significant costs to the State budget after it was enacted in April without identifying spending reductions to pay for them. In addition to preventing unaffordable growth to the State General Fund that would exacerbate next year’s projected multi-billion dollar budget gap, the 171 vetoes he has issued since June will save money for local governments, as well.

“These tough fiscal times call for tough decisions,” said Governor Paterson. “While I have signed hundreds of bills into law that will help improve the lives of our citizens in the areas of education, health care and public safety, I felt it was absolutely critical to veto bills that increased taxpayer costs beyond what we can afford in these challenging times.”

Governor Paterson added: “Many of the bills I vetoed are worthy projects with laudable goals. But in the face of this current fiscal crisis, we must begin immediately to adjust our budget priorities to reflect the new economic reality we must confront.”

Since he took office in March, Governor Paterson has worked with the Legislature repeatedly to reduce state spending to protect the State’s finances. These measures include spending cuts the Governor and Legislature implemented in April and July totaling more than $1.3 billion, a hard hiring freeze, and an extraordinary special session of the Legislature in August that enacted savings of $1 billion over two years.

At the end of August, the Division of the Budget projected that the State faces a $5.4 billion deficit in 2009-10 and a $24.4 billion deficit over the next three years. Governor Paterson is currently reviewing recent revenue collections and will be meeting with Legislative leaders on Friday to discuss the recent turmoil on Wall Street’s impact on the State budget. The Division of Budget is also scheduled to release a new Financial Plan at the end of October that will provide official updated fiscal projections for the remainder of the current fiscal year and future years.

(YWN Desk – NYC)