Common Cause/NY Criticizes Natural Gas Budget Proposal

Common Cause/NY issued the following statement in response to the Natural Gas Industry's proposal to "rescue" the state's environmental and parks budget by eviscerating the regulatory review process for natural gas leasing.

NEW YORK, NY (04/15/2010)(readMedia)-- IOGANY's proposal is endemic of the failed budgeting process in New York State. Our leaders have, for many years, avoided hard fiscal choices by adding last minute secret "fixes" that, in the long run, end up costing the taxpayer more than the short-term gain they provide and often benefit special interests at the cost of the public interest. IOGANY's mid-April proposal, coming long after the April 1 budget deadline, is just such a stopgap measure, certainly not initiated out of any altruism on the part of the Natural Gas Industry. Our budget process should and must be conducted on a rational, objective basis, where the long-term consequences, risks and benefits are factored into the budgeting process, not just the short-term dollar amount which could be gained.

To its credit, New York State has a more balanced and considered process for environmental regulation. Our budget crisis is real enough. It should not be used as a means to dismantle important and salutary governmental processes. The budget crisis was not created overnight and it will not be solved by last-minute attempts to eviscerate the environmental review process. The goal should be to conduct our budgeting process in the same deliberate manner as our environmental reviews, not the other way around.