ALBANY — State lawmakers reached agreement last night on a hodgepodge of one-shot revenue bills totaling over $700 million that are designed to help Gov. Paterson close the state’s projected $3 billion-plus budget deficit.
While the package fell short by as much as $700 million of what Paterson had asked the legislature to approve, he said he would sign the measures into law as part of an overall deficit-reduction plan.
“We would not cut off our nose to spite our face,” said the governor, who has vowed to use his executive authority to slow down state spending in order to close the remaining budget gap.
The Legislature’s budget-reduction plan dips into next year’s federal stimulus money for up to $400 million in current year gap-closing funds and raises an anticipated $250 million through an income-tax amnesty program.
Absent from the Legislature’s plan were some $500 million in cuts to state education and health-care programs sought by Paterson but rejected by the Legislature’s Democratic leadership.