Legislature Quietly Moves To Cut Cuomo’s Regional Economic Councils

The State Senate and Assembly drafted thousands of pages of budget bills this weekend and began debating their points on Monday. A minimum wage increase, school aid for New York City, expanding a criminal database, and a restoration of cuts for disabled persons services were all discussed, but both houses quietly sought to cut a significant amount of funding from Gov. Andrew Cuomo‘s regional economic development programs.

The Assembly proposed to eliminate $150 million in economic development grants in the bill they passed on Monday while the Senate wants to put a hold on the funds in order to have more of a say over how the money is spent, according to legislative sources. Legislators do not have discretionary funds of their own to contribute to their districts and leaders have not discussed the restoration of member items in next year’s budget.

A Cuomo spokesman said he was unaware of the proposed cuts.