Capitol Bureau

ALBANY — State lawmakers began passing a budget Tuesday worth more than $93 billion, despite the objections of an angry Gov. George Pataki, who blasted the plan as "fiscally irresponsible."

"I will do everything in my ability to prevent this plan from becoming law," said a frustrated Pataki during a hastily called press conference at the Capitol.

The Legislature's budget would add about $2.3 billion to Pataki's $90.8 billion spending proposal. As of Tuesday night, it was still unclear how that money would be raised.

The governor, however, claims the Legislature's plan is chock full of "fiscal gimmicks" that would worsen the state's budget crisis and damage its credit rating. He also said lawmakers are relying on $7 billion in tax hikes that would raise taxes on average New York families by $2,000 per year.

Senate Republicans immediately denied that.

"I don't have the information that the governor is talking about in terms of that kind of negative impact," said state Sen. James Seward, R-Milford. "But what I do know is that when the school districts are putting together their school budgets based on the governor's original proposal, we're seeing huge property tax increases in our area and huge cuts in our rural schools that can ill afford to see those cuts.

"All we're trying to do," Seward added, "is to lessen the burden on local homeowners and local businesses that pay property taxes. These are unprecedented times in terms of the challenges we are facing."

Under the governor's original spending plan, proposed in January, school funding would be cut by $1.2 billion. However, by the time the Legislature completes passage of its state budget Friday, $700 million in school aid is expected to be restored.

In an effort to further help schools, the Senate voted, 58-0, Tuesday to complete the override of Pataki's veto of a bill to push school budget votes back to June 3. The Assembly passed the override Monday by a vote of 111-38.

"I think it's important we give the school voters and the school boards more time because the school-aid numbers are becoming available too late to have a responsible, informed vote on May 20," Seward said.

Legislative leaders decided to go forward with passing their budget Tuesday afternoon after talks with the governor broke down. While Pataki said he was not opposed to spending increases, he repeatedly emphasized he would not agree to broad-based tax hikes that threaten the state's economic competitiveness.

Assemblyman Bill Magee, D-Nelson, rejected the governor's charge that lawmakers were acting irresponsibly.

"We're taking actions that are going to avoid property tax hikes," he said. "My school districts and local municipalities are looking at double-digit tax increases."

Magee said that if anyone's been fiscally irresponsible it's Pataki for failing to take the lead in budget negotiations and refusing to collect more than $1 billion in taxes on Indian reservations and the Internet.

"He's the only one that could do that, and he's not doing it," the assemblyman said. "To me that's fiscal irresponsibility, and he's been doing that for the last five or six years."

Not all lawmakers from the Oneonta area, however, stand behind the Legislature's budget. Assemblymen Daniel Hooker, R-Sharon Springs, and Clifford Crouch, R-Bainbridge, voted against the two budget bills that passed through the Legislature on Tuesday.

"There are no details that have shown me how we're going to raise the money to pay for this budget," Crouch said. "I am real hesitant to vote for a spending plan that doesn't include where the money is coming from. We haven't even been given that information, yet we're voting on bills."