Pataki Vetoes Pro-Union Bills
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
ALBANY — Governor Pataki vetoed 60 bills yesterday including many that would further protect union jobs.
Another bill vetoed by Mr. Pataki would have created an electronic way for the public to routinely access public records subject to the state Freedom of Information Law. Mr. Pataki said creating the system would be too expensive and would expand FOIL beyond its intent.
The Legislature can now consider overriding the vetoes with a two-third vote in the Republican-controlled Senate and Democrat-controlled Assembly. Many of the bills passed with those margins. The Senate and Assembly are considering the vetoes.
This year’s state budget grew by 12.9%, about four times the rate of inflation, to $114.7 billion, the state comptroller, Alan Hevesi, said. Critics say the budget for this election year contained record spending for unions and other special interests for every seat in the Legislature.
Among some of the pro-union bills that Mr. Pataki vetoed yesterday were measures that would have:
• Provided tenure to all public workers classified as laborers after five years of public employment. They could only be fired after going through the public worker disciplinary hearings required for action against non-laborers.
• Treated state police like other state employees in disciplinary cases that include hearings and outside arbitrators. Mr. Pataki said state police should handle their own disciplinary action.
• Empowered public employees with time to hire an attorney or other representative if he or she is being questioned by an employer “and it reasonably appears that the employee may be the subject of potential disciplinary action.”
• Prohibited state employees from being transferred against their wishes without at least 12 months notice.
• Prohibited counties from consolidating and sharing their veterans’ service agencies to save money. Mr. Pataki said no evidence indicates that consolidation would harm service to veterans.
• Allowed bridge and tunnel workers of the state Metropolitan Transit Authority in New York City to receive disability payments worth three-quarters of their pay if they contract lung disease after five years. Supporters say fumes and exhaust pose a special threat; Mr. Pataki said there is no proof and the bill would be costly to the MTA.
