Spring is almost upon us, which in Albany means one thing: the state budget process is about to enter full swing.

While the budget is massive and impacts each and every New Yorker in some way, not many people actually understand how it works. Hopefully, I can help clarify some aspects of the budget process and let folks know what they can expect.


The process begins in early January when the governor presents her executive budget proposal, which lays out her vision for the state budget and her requests. This year, the governor proposed a budget of $252 billion. This is a whopping $19 billion more than the one she proposed last year. Included is a proposal to use a $3 billion surplus to send checks to taxpayers earning as much as $300,000 annually. This surplus came from an increase in sales tax revenue. This increase in sales tax isn’t from unplanned, extravagant purchases, it’s likely because products cost more. I propose instead of a refund, our state should pay down the debt it incurred from borrowing money from the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic. This loan is being passed on to all employers in New York state as a backdoor unemployment insurance tax.

If you thought the governor's proposal was too high, just wait until you hear about the majority Democrats’ budget proposals, which are proposed by both the Senate and the Assembly following the executive budget. The Senate and the Assembly budget proposals are known as “one-house” budgets. After the governor presents her budget, lawmakers hold hearings where other lawmakers and I get to ask experts and stakeholders their ideas for a state budget. The one-house budget proposals are typically much higher than the governor’s budget. Never once has the Legislature reduced a governor’s budget proposal; they have only gone higher. Instead of what you would expect to find in a budget: dollars and cents, the Legislature includes a treasure trove wish list of policy items that are just plain bad for New York. This is when dollars and policies blend together in our budget.

The good news, however, is that my Republican colleagues and I debate these proposals tooth and nail and make sure all New Yorkers know what the Democrat majority is trying to do—this often can result in them backing off their more radical proposals as they see just how unpopular they are.

Next up, the Legislature and the governor begin closed-door negotiations of their budget proposals in the hopes of a compromise. These negotiations begin with senior staff members of the majority party, and eventually end up with “three people in the room” who are the governor, the Assembly speaker and the Senate president pro tempore. Again, behind closed doors. Once those three people agree, the budget is written into huge volumes of legislation that must pass both houses of the Legislature after debate on the floor, in public, usually late at night. This is the first glance the public gets at the huge budget.

Contrary to common sense, the budget is broken down into 10 voluminous individual budget bills, which each need to be debated and voted on individually. My Republican colleagues and I will furiously debate these bills to try to show our Democrat colleagues just how much harm their budgets will do, especially to the hard-working families of upstate New York. Unfortunately, in one party-ruled Albany, the agreed-upon budget will almost certainly be passed comfortably because of the New York City representation. I will continue to be vocal in my opposition and vote no on almost every budget bill that comes across my desk, the people of Upstate New York deserve nothing less. I realize there is a great deal of good and needed services in our state budget, but each of those 10 sections of the budget contains a “poison pill,” which is just so bad I cannot in good conscience vote yes.

State law requires the state budget be passed by April 1 of every year, but because neither the governor nor the Legislature budgets contain simply dollars and cents, budget negotiations almost always drag past that date, often resulting in a series of emergency extenders to ensure our hard-working state workers still get paid and we keep the lights of the state government on. Once the budget is late, the legislators stop being paid, which is as it should be.

Hopefully, this gave you some insight into how the budget process works and what to expect in the next couple of months. If you have any questions on the budget or any other issue, please reach out to me by email at angelinoj@nyassembly.gov. I’d love to hear your thoughts as being your voice in Albany is my number one priority.

Assemblyman Angelino represents the 121st  Assembly District, which includes parts of Broome County, Delaware County, Madison County, Chenango County and Otsego County. Follow Assemblyman Angelino on Facebook.