Message from State Representative Kathy Ryg

[Guest guest]

Some not so good news that we knew anyway...

Ellen

From the Desk of State Representative Kathy Ryg…

The news about the state's fiscal crisis is alarming. Last week the

Governor proposed a budget relief plan (currently amendments to

SB2083) but thankfully, it did not get a vote in the House last

week. The Governor's staff provided background information on his

proposal and this provided an opportunity to directly express our

concerns that giving the Governor broad based authority to make

further reductions in state spending was unthinkable given his

failure to restore the budget cuts with the fund sweep revenues. The

subsequent economic downturn only compounds the problem. As a result

of these conversations, the bill was withdrawn from consideration.

We face a record breaking backlog of state payments to providers of

state services, revenue forecasts are far below projections and

budget cuts have eliminated programs and services. I support

Comptroller Hynes proposal for short term borrowing to make payments

owed by the State. We must engage in a thorough review of any future

cuts and include all stakeholders in looking for ways to save costs

with minimal impact on services. The spring session promises to

present budget challenges unlike any we have seen due to the

uncertainty in the nation's economy and reduced revenues for all

levels of government.

Please know that I will make every effort to respond to your

concerns, however, it is important to understand that the Governor

has spending authority as provided by our constitution. He can and

has exercised this authority without legislative input so I would

suggest when you contact me, you also contact the Governor's office.

This will reinforce my efforts to begin the budget problem solving

process in a collaborative way.

Best wishes,

Kathy Ryg

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