ALBANY – With the state budget deadline looming tonight, Gov. Paterson and legislative leaders said they expect lawmakers to begin passing measures today that would increase spending by as much as 4.7 percent while nearly doubling the state tax on smoking to $2.75 a pack and hiking education spending by a record $1.8 billion.
Following a day of uncertainty, Paterson and legislative leaders announced late yesterday afternoon a “conceptual” budget agreement that would raise spending $500 million above what the new governor had sought.
“We will start passing bills [today] in pursuit of meeting the deadline,” Paterson said, even as he acknowledged it could be difficult logistically to finish the budget passage by the 11:59 p.m. deadline.
But after being briefed last night, many senators were skeptical that the budget votes would begin today.
Even so, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said that while there were still outstanding issues, he believed they could be dealt with overnight.
The total budget, according to state leaders, could come in slightly below $124 billion. Paterson said the increase would total “a little less” than 4.4 percent over the current year, while Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno said the spending increase could be closer to 4.6 percent or 4.7 percent.
Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer in January proposed a $124.3 billion budget that would have increased spending by 5.1 percent, although the overall proposed spending has been adjusted downward several times as the economic forecast has become gloomier.
“While we’re in fiscally distressed times, we have done the best that we can for the families here in New York state,” Bruno said.
Asked if he was happy with the final product, Paterson, who has said the country and New York are in a recession, laughed before replying, “No comment.”
Elizabeth Lynam, of the Citizens Budget Commission, said she felt there is a “fire lit” to get a budget deal done quickly because state “revenue is deteriorating.”
She said it would not be such a bad thing to blow the budget deadline to get a better financial picture after the April 15 tax deadline.
“They’re looking to lock in a number before being hit with a grimmer outlook,” she said.
The new spending plan does not contain a hike in the personal income tax for millionaires, sought by Assembly Democrats.
But the package is expected to contain as much as $1 billion in new fees and taxes, many of them originally proposed in January by Spitzer.
Among the “revenue enhancers” said to be part of the new budget is an increase in the state tax on cigarettes, which a Bruno aide said will be $1.25-per-pack added onto the current $1.50 per pack.
The so-called “Amazon.com tax,” which would require online retailers located outside the state to charge New York sales tax, is also said to be part of the new deal.