Send to Friend

Funds earmarked by Albany legislators for some local projects are among the many items vetoed by Governor Patterson in his move to curtail so-called "pork spending." While the State 2010-11 budget includes no allocations for member-item spending, $193 million had previously been designated for these purposes and most of the money was to be paid out during the fiscal year.

While the Governor admitted that some of the funding items were worthwhile, he said New York State could not afford them given its financial status. He made good on the vetoes after the legislature did not set up a contingency budget that would go into effect if the federal government fails to release $1 billion in Medicaid funding to the state.  more »