Thursday, October 08, 2009 at 1:52 p.m.
Read more: Local, State, Politics, Economy
ALBANY (AP) -- Gov. David Paterson has asked the Legislature to give him proposals by Wednesday for cutting $2.5 billion from the current budget, pressuring lawmakers to join him in backing politically dangerous spending reductions.
Paterson said Thursday he wants concrete ideas for continuing savings.
The request comes two days after Paterson ordered cuts worth $500 million from executive branch agencies.
Paterson said he and legislative leaders now agree the current deficit is at least $3 billion in the 2009-10 budget adopted.
The Democrat said he also plans to meet Wednesday with financial staff representing the majority and minority leaders of the Senate and Assembly to build a consensus on how to address the deficit.
Legislative leaders have said they want the governor to propose politically dicey cuts in spending, with their responses to follow.
There was no immediate response from the Democratic majorities in the Senate and Assembly.
In a letter to the legislative leaders' financial chiefs, Budget Director Robert Megna notes that the governor controls less than 20 percent of the $132 billion budget. Cuts to the rest require legislative approval.
"We recognize that, ultimately, any solution will need the support of the Legislature," Megna said. "The Legislature has to play a role in this process."
Legislative staffs have met with Paterson's budget office since a Sept. 23 public leaders meeting. But Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Conference Leader John Sampson have said Paterson must be the first to offer proposals, which is the tradition in Albany.
Paterson's order this week for agency cuts would yield about a 4 percent reduction in total spending by agencies. Last year, Paterson cut agency budgets by 10 percent overall to deal with the state's fiscal crisis, saving about $1 billion. He and the Legislature have closed recession-driven deficits totaling more than $20 billion over the last two years, largely with the help of federal stimulus money that Paterson warns won't be available after 2010-11.
(Copyright ©2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
