Senator O'Mara on the first piece of a new state budget: 'Continues to be bad government'

Albany, N.Y., May 20--The State Senate and Assembly, with a message of necessity from Governor Kathy Hochul, today approved the first of what is expected to be a total of nine pieces of legislation comprising the 2026-2027 New York State budget.

The budget legislation approved today covers the Education, Labor, Housing, and Family Assistance portion of the new budget. Another budget measure is expected to be acted on tomorrow and, according to the Senate Democrat Majority, the Legislature intends to take up the remaining portions of the final budget next week. Earlier today, again with a message of necessity from the governor, the Senate and Assembly approved a 14th “budget extender” to keep state government operating in the absence of a final budget, which was supposed to be in place by April 1.

During debate on the floor of the Senate, State Senator Tom O’Mara (R,C-Big Flats), Ranking Member on the Senate Finance Committee, remained sharply critical of the budget adoption process, questioned why the governor and the Democrat-led Legislature are taking a piecemeal approach to adopting this year’s budget, and again warned that the massive increases in state spending being approved will be unaffordable and unsustainable for taxpayers.

This year’s final state budget is expected to total at least $268 billion, a massive, roughly $15-billion increase over the current budget.

“We should have a complete budget before us, every aspect of it, not moving parts. There’s no reason why we couldn’t, and why we shouldn’t be waiting to use the Constitutionally required three days (to allow for the review of legislation),” O’Mara said. “This continues to be bad government. The increases in spending continue to be astronomical. This is not a sustainable budget. It is spending that is out of control, spending far higher than states larger than the state of New York.”

O’Mara continued, “We have no control over the unabated spending in this state while providing no relief to New York State taxpayers. When affordability is the buzzword of the day, nothing, not one tax decrease in this budget.”