Ortt and Senate Republicans don’t want ‘messages of necessity’ to pass budget

Provided photo: State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt speaks during a news conference on Tuesday in the state capital.

Press Release, State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt

ALBANY – State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt on Tuesday was joined by Senator Jack Martins, Senator Mark Walczyk and members of the Senate Republican Conference to rail against New York State’s budget process – with the budget now over a month late and a lack of transparency over where exactly New Yorkers’ tax dollars are going.

In addition, Senate Republicans called on Governor Kathy Hochul and the Legislative Majorities not to use so-called “messages of necessity” to bypass the constitutionally required three-day aging process once budget bills get introduced. This critically important “aging” provision of the State Constitution helps to ensure that the public, the press, and all interested parties have the opportunity to actually review the budget bills prior to them being enacted into law.

Currently, Senator Mark Walczyk carries bill S48 which is expected to be taken up for committee discussion in the Senate Judiciary Committee. If passed, S48 will prohibit the Governor from issuing a message of necessity for budget related bills.

“This budget is going to spend more than a quarter of a trillion dollars in taxpayer dollars. Up to this point, there has been no sense of urgency to get the budget done – now that we are nearing the end, it should not be rushed through without time for proper review,” said Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt.

The Governor has paraded around the state as if her job is done, even though the Legislature has yet to vote on a single budget bill. Further mystifying what exactly has happened behind the closed doors of budget negotiations. New Yorkers deserve transparency from their elected officials.

“Government by ‘message of necessity’ is no way to run a government for the communities and taxpayers of this state. It’s time to bring this process out of the dark,” said Senator Tom O’Mara, Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee. “Governor Hochul and the Legislature’s Democrat majorities go on working behind closed doors to allocate billions of state taxpayer dollars and set in motion far-reaching public policies impacting our local citizens, communities, and economies in consequential ways. The state budget demands a full public airing and the appropriate time for review and debate, but that’s never what we get.  It’s a broken process that blindfolds the public and keeps producing bloated state budgets that taxpayers will never be able to afford.”