HERMAN D. FARRELL, JR.
Assembly Member 71st District

Room 923
Legislative Office Building
Albany, New York 12248
(518)455-5491
(518)455-5776 FAX

CHAIRMAN
Ways and Means Committee

COMMITTEES
Rules
Black & Puerto Rican Caucus

February 3, 2003

Dear Colleagues:

I am pleased to provide you with the Statistical and Narrative Summary of the Executive Budget for the upcoming State Fiscal Year, April 1, 2003 to March 31, 2004. The "Yellow Book" is intended to provide the Members of the Committee, the Members of the Assembly, and the public with an overview of the fiscal and policy proposals made by the Governor in the bills submitted as his Executive Budget on January 29, 2003.

The "Yellow Book" marks the beginning of the Legislature's public review of the Governor's proposed budget. It is the Assembly's preliminary response to the budget, as required by Section 53 of the Legislative Law. Joint legislative fiscal committee hearings on the budget proposal begin our efforts to ensure public accessibility and accountability. This year, these hearings commence on February 3, 2003 and conclude on March 4, 2003.

Section One, Overview of Executive Budget, provides an executive summary of the Governor's proposal for State Fiscal Year 2003-04, including analysis intended to place the proposed financial plan and spending in major programmatic areas in perspective.

Section Two, Summary of Recommended Appropriations by Agency, provides an overview of current appropriations and recommendations for the 2003-04 State Fiscal Year for each agency, a presentation of the proposed changes in each agency's budgeted personnel level, and a description of the programmatic and statutory modifications proposed in Article VII legislation included with the Executive Budget submission. Section Two has been redesigned to reflect the structure of the Executive Budget appropriation bills. Agencies are now presented in Section Two in alphabetical order within the appropriation bills in which they appear in the Governor's proposed budget.

A new Section Three, Detail of Appropriations and Personnel by Agency, has been added to this document to provide a breakdown of the agency summary tables contained in Section Two. The agency tables in Section Three are presented in the same order as the agencies appear in Section Two.

Speaker Silver and I know that you share our goal of producing a budget that is fair and equitable -- a budget that is not balanced to the detriment of our children, our working families, or our elderly and disabled. Despite the bleak fiscal conditions we are faced with, we must not compromise the values we hold dear by jeopardizing the future of our children and our State with short-sighted, wrong choices. We must ensure the future by providing our children with a sound fundamental education, our families with access to health care and employment opportunities, and our elderly with the services they need to enable them to age with dignity.

As the Legislature begins its work on the State Fiscal Year 2003-04 Budget, I would like to express appreciation to my Assembly colleagues for the time and commitment you will dedicate to the budget process. I would also like to convey to the Ways and Means Committee staff my gratitude for their outstanding efforts to produce this document in an even more compressed time period than in previous years.

Sincerely,

HERMAN D. FARRELL, JR.

STATISTICAL AND NARRATIVE SUMMARY

Herman D. Farrell, Jr.
Chairman
Assembly Ways and Means Committee