Chamber of Commerce Legislative Breakfast with State Senator George Borrello and Assemblyman Andy Goodell
State Senator George Borrello and Assemblyman Andy Goodell shared their initial takes on the 2022-23 State Budget at the Chamber of Commerce Legislative Breakfast Friday.
The two legislators appeared via Zoom to attendees of the annual breakfast as the State Legislature was still in session and voting on budget bills at the time of the event.
Assemblyman Andy Goodell said the $220 billion deal reflects a huge increase in spending in recent years, “Last year, the majority raised taxes by about $8 billion. And this year the state has received a lot of, I mean, billions and billions of dollars in Federal stimulus funding. So that’s what’s funding this huge increase in spending.”
Senator Borrello said the budget process was dysfunctional with the Democrats seeming to not be able to get out of their own way.
Borrello also criticized how policy issues, like bail reform, were discussed as part of the budget process, “But they do that to provide cover for some of their members who can say, ‘Well, it was part of a massive budget bill. I had to vote yes on it,’ or ‘I had to vote no on it,’ however it is. But the bottom line is, is this is probably the biggest topic for New Yorkers everywhere from the tip of Long Island to North Country.”
Borrello added that Governor Kathy Hochul‘s release of a 10-point plan shows that even she’s aware of the need to fix some of the issues happening in courts due to bail reform.
The full comments by Borrello and Goodell will be aired on this Thursday’s Community Matters at 5pm on WRFA.
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