Jay Gallagher, Gannett News Service in the Poughkeepsie Journal
Senate GOP wants spending curbs and sunshine
Senate Republicans Wednesday called for a cap on state spending and more disclosure about how state agencies spend taxpayer dollars.
With the state facing potential budget gaps of billions of dollars over the next few years, the Republicans said capping spending growth at 4 percent, or 120 percent of the inflation rate, whichever is less, would help to bring revenues in line with spending. And providing more information about how the money is spent would also provide a significant control on spending growth, they said.
“With millions of middle-class families tightening their belts to overcome tough economic times, taxpayers have every right to demand that their government operates as openly and efficiently as possible,” said Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, Rensselaer County.
He said spending by the state government has increased more than 61 percent since 2001 - almost three times the inflation rate. He said if a cap like the one the Senate is proposing were in place during that period, the state would now have a $13 billion surplus.
When a reporter noted the Senate approved the spending it is now criticizing, Bruno blamed the Assembly and governors.
“If I were in charge by myself,” the spending would have been lower, he said. “You have to deal with others in government.”
‘Inefficiency’ cited
And when asked what spending the state should not have done, for example maybe less on schools or health care, he said “inefficiency, waste and unnecessary expenditures” should have been targeted. He didn’t provide further details.
Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group, a watchdog organization, said the cap should be unnecessary, since “it’s the role of the Legislature” to scrutinize spending.
But he endorsed the Republicans’ idea of publishing more detailed information about state-agency spending, in the style of reports on spending by the Legislature, which have been available to the public since 1996.
“It makes perfect sense,” Horner said. “The idea of more sunshine on state government is a good one.”
