“Leave SUNY Bill Out of the Budget”

July 22, 2010 - Partisan politics appears to be the name of the game in Albany and it’s exactly what continues to hold up our New York State budget.  A few weeks ago, the Legislature was very close to coming to a three way agreement on the revenue portion of the budget but then politics reared its ugly head and now we’re back to the drawing board. Here’s how it started: A dispute over whether to allow public universities to raise tuition rates on their own is one of the key issues holding up passage of the state budget. The Senate consists of 32 democrats and 30 republicans so it requires every democrat to vote yes on a bill in order for it to pass.   In other words, for anything to pass, this house requires a full majority vote. Currently, the Senate does not have a full majority to pass the budget due to one Senator refusing to sign on until certain reforms are made to the Public Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act.  This act gives SUNY and CUNY universities the ability to raise tuition and invest the additional funds in addition to giving them full autonomy.  One Senator has taken a strong stand against this proposal because it does not have the full support of his constituency.  To be clear, I respect the Senator who is holding out for reforms that are critical to his district.  What I am pointing out, is how much control this individual Senator’s one vote has and how much of an impact it has on the final budget process.  The Public Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act is an enormous change to the SUNY system and should be debated on its own merit.  Having it folded into the revenue part of the state budget puts many Senators in an odd position of choosing between stopping the budget from being passed or overhauling the way SUNY schools raise revenue.  Budget bills should be the financial plan for the year, not a place to enact reforms and major policy changes.  Those types of bills should be debated on their own, giving each legislator the chance to represent his or her constituents on each issue.