Governor's Musings on Midyear Cuts to Budget Make Waves

Governor Paterson spent this week preaching the gospel of fiscal responsibility throughout a radio tour of the state.

It was not until yesterday, however, that lawmakers took notice — when Mr. Paterson told reporters that he was considering asking the Legislature to take the highly unusual step of opening the lid of the adopted 2008-09 budget and making midyear cuts.

"I would like to do midyear cuts because it would just be so unique that we start attacking next year's deficit instead of ignoring it, knowing it's sitting there waiting for us and growing," Mr. Paterson said, according to the New York Times.

The idea of unsealing a finished budget and subtracting spending months before voters head to the polls is not something lawmakers have been considering.

Lawmakers on election years historically use the remainder of the session tending to their districts. When they do pass legislation, it is often to add spending, usually by supporting measures that increase public employee pension benefits.

Before lawmakers had time to respond, the Paterson administration clarified that the governor was not really considering such a drastic step. Instead, according to a spokesman, the governor meant to say that he hoped lawmakers would begin a conversation about scaling back spending for next year. This year's budget, with its 4.5% spending hike, will not be open to renegotiation.

"He was looking more toward next year's budget process," a spokesman for Mr. Paterson, Errol Cockfield, said.

The Legislature is not off the hook completely, though. The administration yesterday sent a letter to the Legislature, the office of the comptroller, the attorney general's office, and the Court of Appeals, requesting that they reduce their operating budgets by 3.35%, the same percentage cut that the governor imposed on state agencies this year.

The Legislature's budget is more than $200 million, which works out to more than $1 million a lawmaker.