A Democratic state lawmaker pitched a bill that would exempt her and her colleagues from having to pay their burdensome utility and internet bills, while a party standoff continued to stall budget talks.
Assembly Member Larinda Hooks (D-Brooklyn) is pushing a bill to offer the put-upon legislators who aren’t getting paid after the state blew past its April 1 budget deadline, with lawmakers approving an extender Wednesday that kicks negotiations into May.
“New York State employs over 130,000 individuals whose compensation depends on timely budget enactment,” a memo accompanying the bill said. “When budget negotiations extend past the April 1 deadline, affected employees may be unable to meet utility payment obligations during the interruption period.”
The legislation was quickly panned by critics as a “silly conversation” — especially given that New York senators and assembly members are the highest-paid state lawmakers in the country — making $142,000 on top of per diems for travel to Albany.
Assemblymember Larinda Hooks is pushing legislation that acknowledges put-upon legislators who aren’t getting paid after the state’s budget deadline, as she said, “affected employees may be unable to meet utility payment obligations.” New York State Assembly “We don’t need to pass laws to benefit ourselves because we do our, one of our most basic parts of our job, which is passing a budget,” Assembly Minority Leader Ed Ra (R-Nassau) told reporters Wednesday.
“It’s kind of a silly conversation to talk about having utility relief that’s only going to be for us.”
“I never try to explain asinine,” state Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island) told The Post in the chamber’s lobby early Wednesday afternoon.
By then, the lobby was largely vacated as Senators flocked to the exits after having approved the eighth stopgap measure to keep all other state workers paid while majority Democrats haggle over a full deal behind closed doors.
“We’re way past timely, and we’re getting close to just inexcusably late,” Lanza said.
Lawmakers didn’t have to approve the extender Wednesday, though Gov. Kathy Hochul graciously gave the legislature the bill to them a day early so they could run home to begin their weekends in accordance with their pre-planned schedule.
“I think it speaks for itself that there seems to be no urgency on this thing,” Ra said.
