ALBANY – Assemblyman Joe Sempolinski, R-Canisteo, said the Democrat-controlled budget process has once again failed New Yorkers as the legislature passed a one-week budget extender Tuesday to keep the government open past the April 1 state budget deadline.
“Here we are again. If we needed more evidence that one-party rule in Albany isn’t working, this is it,” Sempolinski said.
“Albany Democrats seem incapable of fulfilling the most fundamental role of government and that’s passing an on-time budget. This highlights, more than anything else, the need to restore common-sense spending practices and to reform the state budget process.”
In January, Gov. Hochul proposed a $262.7 billion executive budget, Assembly Democrats countered with a $272 billion proposal and state Senate Democrats offered a $269.8 billion budget. The governor and leaders of the Assembly and Senate, all of whom are Democrats, are meeting to reconcile the plans.
“All these budget proposals by the governor and Democrat majority are over a quarter of a trillion dollars. That’s an irresponsible, unsustainable level of spending and it’s an insult to the hard-working taxpayers of New York who are struggling to pay their utility bills and put food on their tables,” Sempolinski said.
“This is exactly what happens when you think the only solution to a problem is throwing more money at it. More government and more taxes aren’t the answer. And we shouldn’t have three people in a room deciding the budget and laws for 20 million. That’s not democracy.”
The 2025-2026 state budget wasn’t adopted until May 8, five weeks late, Sempolinski noted.
