If Legislature finds alternative savings measures
ALBANY -- Governor David Paterson says he could eliminate the State’s new license plate requirement if the State Legislature works with him to identify responsible, alternative savings measures before the release of his 2010-11 Executive Budget.
The new license plate requirement is scheduled to go into effect on April 1 and is projected to produce $129 million in revenue in each of the next two fiscal years (2010-11 and 2011-12). It was part of the enacted 2009-2010 budget, which was passed by both houses of the Legislature. The State has a current-year 2009-10 deficit of $3.2 billion and a 2010-11 deficit of $6.8 billion.
“We need to act in a fiscally responsible way,” Governor Paterson said. “When elected officials call for the elimination of revenue in a budget that is already $6.8 billion in the red without offering alternatives, it is simply not responsible. If the Legislature works with me, prior to the release of the 2010-11 Executive Budget, to identify real, recurring savings that will replace the revenue that would be lost, I will eliminate the new license plate requirement.”
“County Clerks, who are coming to Albany tomorrow, are encouraged to bring alternative savings suggestions with them, which is something they have failed to do so far,” the Governor added.
