Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo (D-Endwell) announced today that she and 26 Assembly members staged a “sit-in” to express their shared frustration over the stalled budget negotiations. The scene played out at the Capitol Wednesday night as Lupardo and her Assembly colleagues entered the governor's office and refused to leave until they were able to meet with him.

“My frustration reached a boiling point after budget negotiations broke down once again and the state legislature was sent home,” said Lupardo. “I had the chance to make a personal appeal to Governor Paterson and express my despair over the lack of funding for roads, bridge and construction projects in my district. Hundreds of people are out of work and many have lost their health insurance as a result.”

After meeting with the governor for about an hour in the Red Room, Lupardo and many of her colleagues stood behind him as he addressed the media. “We moved the ball forward considerably today,” said Paterson. “Unfortunately we are all going to have to make decisions that are not in our best political interest.”

Also yesterday, Lupardo co-sponsored new legislation (A.10926) that would ensure existing road bridge and construction projects with existing state contracts are funded throughout the budget negotiations. Since the budget has been late, contractors working on projects throughout the state of New York have not been getting paid for their work. Many have suspended work altogether.

“While I understand the governor’s frustration with a lack of a budget agreement, he should not be taking it out on hard working men and women,” said Lupardo, a member of the Transportation Committee. “I have been hearing from constituents and businesses that are very upset and concerned about job losses.”

Governor Paterson has excluded payments for road and other construction projects in his emergency appropriations legislation, breaking almost 500 contracts statewide. The governor froze construction spending as of April 1 for any new or ongoing projects, saying he had to do so to conserve cash and keep the state solvent.

Historically, when the budget has been late, capital project spending has been included in the emergency extender bills. The governor’s actions not only delay payments, but also risk delaying the completion of projects before the winter.

The legislation co-sponsored by Lupardo was passed by the Senate on May 5th and is currently in the Ways & Means committee in the Assembly.