Updated 06/13/2010 05:44 PM
State Lawmakers Work To Avoid Possible Shutdown
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With a potential shutdown of state government looming, lawmakers in Albany are spending the weekend trying to come up with a full state budget.
State offices and agencies would close Monday if lawmakers fail to pass Governor David Paterson's latest emergency spending bill.
The measure includes roughly $327 million in cuts to mental health and social services to help bridge the state's $9.2 billion budget gap which is more than two months late.
"They risk subjecting the public to unimaginable pain that's unnecessary when all I'm doing is trying to get the savings that the legislature has advocated for the last two months," said the governor.
So far, Democrats do not have the votes to pass it on their own. It's also unclear if Republicans -- who have voted against previous emergency bills -- will provide enough votes to approve this week's.
If the bill is defeated, the state will go into "emergency mode" to continue essential services like health and public security.
While appearing at the Puerto Rican Day Parade Sunday, gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo backed the governor, saying he thinks Paterson is doing the right thing by urging passage of the latest emergency spending bill.
"What the governor's saying now is, he's raising the stakes, this has gone on for a long time, it has to be over, and the governor is saying that you want to shut down the state? Shut down the state. But I'm going to make sure the people of this state know who voted for what and why and what the stakes were. And I think frankly the pressure is forcing the legislature to do the responsible thing," Cuomo said.
A shutdown on the state level could include the suspension of lottery games and other nonessential services, plus the closure of parks, campgrounds, courts and unemployment offices.
Social service payments including welfare and food stamps would also be frozen.
The shutdown would even freeze paychecks for 153,000 state employees who are scheduled to be paid on June 23.
Prisons and state police patrols would continue, but likely with reduced staffing.