Ball Proposes: No Budget, No Paycheck

The New York State budget is now 114 days overdue marking the 23rd time in the past 25 years that lawmakers have passed the legal deadline for ratifying a spending plan.

If there anything that can make them change their ways?

State Assemblyman Greg Ball wants to motivate Albany’s future leaders to work together on a budget by setting guidelines to withhold pay from leadership as well as legislative and executive staff should a fiscal spending plan be late.

At a Carmel news conference Friday, Ball announced his intention of introducing a measure that will result in state lawmakers forfeiting their paychecks if a budget fails to be approved on time.

Calling the legislature “dysfunctional,” the 99th District lawmaker who represents constituents in Carmel, Southeast, Patterson, Pawling, North Salem, Somers and Yorktown, charged that “working people who work for a living and play by the rules, can barely hold onto their homes and are struggling to pay their property taxes while our legislature constantly refuses to take action for months. This ethical and moral lapse is a profile lacking courage that represents a blatant and arrogant disregard for New Yorkers.”

Ball’s proposal begins to penalize legislative leaders both in the Majority as well as the Minority along with the Governor when the budget is one day late by withholding bi-weekly paychecks. Once the budget is 30 days late, under Ball’s proposal, the Governor and legislative leaders would forfeit their paychecks until a budget is passed.

Under current law, pay is withheld from all legislators if the budget is late but that money is reimbursed once the fiscal spending plan is approved.

Ball is seeking the 40th District State Senate seat now held by veteran Vincent Leibell who has announced his intention to run for County Executive in November.

In order to get to Albany, Ball will have to defeat Somers Supervisor Mary Beth Murphy who has the official Putnam County party backing in a September 14 primary.

Murphy said while penalties and incentives must take place “history has shown that my opponent has not gotten a thing done in Albany during his tenure.”

The winner of the race faces off against Democrat Mike Kaplowitz in November. He dismissed Ball’s proposal as meaningless: “This is typical Albany grandstanding that has zero chance of passage. It makes for good headlines on a hot summer’s day.”

Ball predicted he will have co-sponsors within the next week but even if the measure is approved by the legislature and signed by the Governor it would not take effect until April 1 of 2011 at the earliest. Meanwhile, as far as this year’s budget is concerned, Ball told the Courier: “Don’t expect action anytime soon. Many of the Democrats have primaries. I wouldn’t be surprised if the budget is not a done deal until after Sept. 14.”