“The mother of all mandates” has been pushed back to 2032
From the Office of NYS Assemblyman Phil Palmesano,
Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C-Corning), the ranking member of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, shared his thoughts after the Assembly passed its first budget bill since March. Of the nine remaining bills to be enacted, the Education, Labor and Family Assistance (ELFA) Bill was the first significant budget bill to pass this year. Palmesano says while he is thankful the voting process has finally started on the state budget, it should never have dragged out this long.
“Finally, after seven weeks of the budget being late, we are doing our legally obligated duty and beginning to vote. In all my years in the Assembly, I have never seen such a dysfunctional budget process. The worst of all of this is that school districts had their budget votes last night, without knowing how much aid they would be receiving from the state. This was a complete dereliction of duty,” said Palmesano.
Palmesano is also highlighting what could be one of the biggest victories of the entire budget. The burdensome electric school bus mandate has been delayed for five years due to constant pressure from Palmesano, his Republican Assembly colleagues and local school districts. Palmesano says that while he still supports a full repeal of the mandate, this is a meaningful step in the right direction.
“The electric school bus mandate is still the mother of all unfunded mandates, and the original timeline was not workable, feasible or affordable and would have put immense financial strain on both our school districts and local property taxpayers. Electric school buses are much more expensive than conventional diesel buses, and implementing this mandate now would require districts to either cut important programs or have property taxes increased significantly. The fact of the matter is that the only reason this delay was implemented was because of the constant and continued pressure applied by our Assembly and Senate Republican colleagues and school districts from around the state. If no one spoke out, Albany Democrats would have never agreed to a delay. I am happy to report that our efforts were successful,” continued Palmesano.
Palmesano says that as the budget process continues, he will remain a steadfast voice for transparency and fiscal responsibility and continue to hold Democrats accountable while debating them.
“I can only imagine what kind of outrageous spending hikes and tax increases will be included in these remaining budget bills, but I will not let them pass without a fight. I will debate each bill vigorously because New Yorkers deserve to know what exactly is in the state budget and that our voices are fighting for them,” concluded Palmesano.
Assemblyman Palmesano represents the 132nd District, which includes Schuyler County, Yates County and parts of Chemung County, Seneca County and Steuben County. For more information about Assemblyman Palmesano, please follow him on Facebook.
