Senate Finance Committee advances debt-service appropriations bill to the floor
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Summary
The New York State Senate Finance Committee voted March 26 to advance S9002A, an appropriations bill to cover state debt-service and related contractual obligations, after brief discussion about whether the bill assumes future, not-yet-bonded capital spending.
The New York State Senate Standing Committee on Finance voted March 26 to advance S9002A, a bill appropriating funds for the state's debt service and related lease-purchase and contractual obligations, sending the measure to the Senate floor for further consideration.
The bill was read into the record by the clerk as "9002a, an act making appropriations for the legal requirements of the state debt service and lease-purchase payments and other special contractual obligations." Chair Liz Krueger said the committee typically takes up this debt-service bill first each year to ensure the state can make scheduled debt payments by April 1. "It is critical, many of us think, to make sure we do our debt service bill so that it is apparent that come April 1, New York state will continue to make its payments on the debt that we have already voted to take on," Krueger said.
A committee member pressed the committee on how this bill relates to the rest of the budget, asking where the other nine budget bills were and noting that "This bill, however, includes quite a bit more than that that has not yet been, bonded for." The committee member said that a finalized capital budget should be in place before assuming additional debt.
Krueger responded that the bill includes estimates to cover the possibility of additional borrowing but that actual borrowing would require a separate vote in the final capital bill. "If the final budget language for capital doesn't approve that money for spending, we won't be borrowing it, and therefore, we won't owe anything," Krueger said, noting the inclusion is precautionary.
Senator John Lewis moved to advance the bill and Michelle Henson seconded. The committee approved the measure by voice vote; the chair recorded no opposition and no recusals in the transcript and announced the bill will move to the Senate floor. The committee then adjourned.
The action advances S9002A ahead of April 1 deadlines for debt-service payments; committee members said the measure's inclusion of estimates tied to potential capital projects will ultimately depend on whether the capital budget authorizes those expenditures.
