State Budget Heads to Assembly

New York State Senators worked into the early morning hours to finalize and pass the state budget before sending it to the Assembly.

The Assembly is expected to begin their debate Thursday, and with nine new bills on the table, the discussions could again go well into the night.

Passing the budget will still happen, however, since Democrats outnumber the GOP 2 to 1. It will mark the third straight on-time budget in the state.

Senators Tom Libous and James Seward say they are pleased to have passed another early on-time budget with no new taxes, fees or gimmicks. Both feel that what they fought for will improve the lives of families in the area and create more jobs.

There is a rebate for middle-class families with children, tax credits for businesses, an increase of $1 billion in school aid, and increased funding for road and bridge repair.

In Chenango County, funding will increase by 23.7 percent for a total of $5.16 million, enabling the cities, towns and villages to perform much needed maintenance and keep roads and bridges safer.

Jim Sargent contributed to this report.