NYSHEI News

We have a state budget.  Rather, we will have a state budget as soon as the legislature passes it in the next day or two.  The budget is written, agreed to and now sits atop legislators desks waiting for the obligatory three days for it to “age” before passage begins.

Details about the budget will dribble out over the next few days as people try to figure out what is in the budget.  While there are usually a few surprises in the budget, this year’s version was developed in unprecedented secrecy.  The NY Post’s Fred Dicker blasts the process here.  The actual budget, with details lauded by the Executive, is here.

Budget overview stories are available from, among others, the Albany Times Union and the New York Times.

The vital statistics are that this budget will spend $131.8 billion, which works out to about $12 billion in new spending.  The Governor and legislative leaders also claim the budget deals with a projected budget deficit of $17 billion.  It is not apparent how this works mathematically.

Included in the budget are $7 billion in new taxes, which critics say will make state revenue reliance on the income taxes of high earning New Yorkers even more disproportionately acute.  There are also $170 million for new pork projects.  The largest budget cuts, about $2.3 billion, will fall on the health industry.  Total cuts come to $5.2 billion.

Ominously, the current year budget problems were handled with non-recurring federal stimulus money.  Temporary federal money will account for $7.2 billion of the new spending, and another $6.2 billion to plug the projected budget gaps.  Since most of this money will expire in 12 to 24 months, and the Governor’s budget director only projects a one percent growth in the state economy over that time, everyone should expect that very tough budget decisions lie just over the horizon.

New member meetings and site visits were recently held on the campuses of the North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, Niagara University, and Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo.

At these meeting NYSHEI Executive Director Jason Kramer had the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge about the newest NYSHEI members and provide information about current and upcoming NYSHEI projects.

“Collectively, these new members bring extraordinary energy.  Each is lead by a dynamic director who is committed to innovation and advocacy.  I am very impressed by their enthusiasm for NYSHEI and our shared mission,” said Mr. Kramer.

An empty promise

The good news is that NYSHEI’s plan for a statewide information infrastructure gained the support of Governor Paterson. The Governor included ARIA, the Academic Research Information Access act, among the projects deemed appropriate for and worthy of funding from the federal economic stimulus money received by the state.

The bad news is that the inclusion of ARIA on the “wish list” means little as the Governor put far too many projects on the wish list, and then used a disproportionate block of the federal stimulus money to plug holes in the current state budget – instead of for economically stimulative projects.

In the end, ARIA will receive no funding from the stimulus package. However, the proposal specifically, and academic and research libraries generally, continue to gain recognition and support from state policy makers.

You can find the full “wish list,” including ARIA, here under resources and links.

The NYS Higher Education Initiative is now a member of the Alliance for Taxpayer Access.

The ATA stands on four principle,

1.  American taxpayers are entitled to open access on the Internet to the peer-reviewed scientific articles on research funded by the U.S. Government.
2. Widespread access to the information contained in these articles is an essential, inseparable component of our nation’s investment in science.
3. This and other scientific information should be shared in cost-effective ways that take advantage of the Internet, stimulate further discovery and innovation, and advance the translation of this knowledge into public benefits.
4. Enhanced access to and expanded sharing of information will lead to usage by millions of scientists, professionals, and individuals, and will deliver an accelerated return on the taxpayers’ investment.

NYSHEI believes that these principles closely mirror the mission and values of NYSHEI, and looks to a long and fruitful partnership with the ATA.