As Assembly leadership began its yearly tradition of unveiling budget bills Tuesday with the introduction of the Debt Service Bill, Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) voted against the legislation that would have perpetuated Albany’s reckless spending habits, leading to a state debt of nearly $54 billion.

“Let’s talk about the facts, New York has $53.6 billion in debt and ranks as the second most indebted state behind only California,” Hawley said. “That’s $3,153 that every single person would be responsible for paying if and when the state comes calling. This bill calls for our budget to allocate $10.2 billion just to service our debt for one year – money that should be invested in roads, bridges, schools and tax relief efforts, not paying state creditors.

“This is the consequence of extreme tax and spend policies in Albany,” Hawley continued. “No family, business or organization across our state would ever put the kind of spending on a credit card the way that New York state does. I will continue to hold the line on responsible spending and total transparency throughout the remainder of our budget process this week. It is time that we ditch the old way of doing things in Albany, and embrace a new vision of fiscal responsibility and pro-growth policies that will allow our state to prosper for decades to come.”