WXXI: Legislative Leaders Find More Money (2007-02-26)

New York's majority party legislative leaders say their revenue estimates show that the state is taking in more money than Governor Eliot Spitzer has claimed.

State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno says Republicans who lead the Senate have found that New York has $1 billion more dollars to spare.

Bruno says the extra dollars should be used for property tax rebate checks, more college tuition assistance, and funding for health care. Governor Spitzer has proposed cutting around one billion dollars to hospitals and nursing homes to reign in Medicaid spending. Bruno did not offer specifics on whether the money should be restored.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat, also thinks that the state has at least a billion dollars in additional revenue. Silver also would not commit to restoring health care cuts, but said adding the money back would not be a big burden in a $115 billion dollar state budget.

Senator Bruno told a gathering of the state's Mayors that he was worried about another possible confrontation with Governor Spitzer over the budget. The governor and legislature have already clashed over the selection of a new state comptroller. The Senate leader said that Spitzer's 75% approval rating in the polls has led some to believe that the governor "walks on water".

Bruno said later that he still believes there can be an on-time budget this year, if the governor is willing to compromise.

"I'm concerned... that people get entrenched, and that they start drawing lines," said Bruno. "That's not how you get a result."

Some members of Speaker Silver's Democratic conference were singled out by Spitzer for criticism for their role in selecting a new Comptroller against the governor's wishes. Speaker Silver has steadfastly refused to fan the flames of that disagreement. Silver says he expects an amiable accord on the budget can be reached.

"When I supported this governor I knew that he was an individual who was passionate," said Silver. "He has differences of opinion, but at some point it's time to move on."

Governor Spitzer, who also addressed the mayors, did not get drawn into the debate over revenue estimates. Under a budget reform proposal agreed to earlier this year, the legislature and governor must agree on one revenue estimate by March 1st. Spitzer says he'll let that process play out this week.

The Governor told the mayors in his speech, that he intends to stick to his proposal for Medicaid cuts to health care providers.

If the governor and legislature fail to reach consensus, the new State Comptroller, Tom DiNapoli, will decide how much money the state has to spend.