There’s a fun internet meme that we’ve all seen online: “You had one job.” It’s usually slapped onto a photo of some absurd blunder: a misspelled road sign, a pizza with no cheese, crooked lane lines painted on a highway. It’s funny because, as a simple truth, when you have a single responsibility, you’re expected to get it right.
Unfortunately, it isn’t funny when it happens in our government. In New York State, our government also had one job: to serve the taxpayers. Like the meme, it failed spectacularly.
I wish my colleagues across the aisle had been able to do their one job during the state’s most recent budget process: pass a fiscally responsible, on-time budget that protects our hardworking residents. This most fundamental annual task becomes a bigger dumpster fire each passing year, with our most recent spending plan quite possibly the worst I’ve ever seen. More than a month late and authorizing $15 billion more in year-over-year spending, it includes too many dubious line items to list here. Yet I must share one particularly egregious one with you.
Tucked away in the state’s $254.4 billion budget is something that should concern all of us: a $10 million fund earmarked to “defend” state employees. Now, this may sound like a reasonable provision to many. After all, shouldn’t we protect public employees for actions they take while performing official duties?
But take a closer look. This new fund, requested by Gov. Kathy Hochul, is entirely different, and was snuck in at the 11th hour without any public explanation or debate. The language is purposefully so broad that it covers both civil and criminal federal investigations, and the fund uses public money to defend state officials for actions they’ve taken in their personal lives — beyond the scope of their official duties!
So instead of shoring up institutional integrity with transparency, open debate and accountability, Albany has officially set aside public money to defend employees who engage in any manner of wrongdoing, even criminal wrongdoing.
How’s that for giving away the taxpayer store?
Even more troubling, the budget specifically states that the fund is available only for proceedings started after January 1, 2025. So any employee investigated before that arbitrary timeline is on their own, but anyone after that date is inexplicably covered.
The timing is no accident. This fund isn’t for everyday employees. It was blatantly designed to defend certain key figures and political allies from personal legal proceedings brought by federal prosecutors or federal agencies.
In a year when New York is facing a major affordability crisis and losing residents to other states at an alarming rate, Albany has created a slush fund that puts taxpayers on the hook for private attorney’s fees. Forcing us to foot the bill for this type of defense is the worst form of political cronyism, and it undermines public trust in government. And while some of my colleagues across the aisle quietly confessed their unease with this policy, none broke rank. They all fell into line and voted like the governor told them to.
This is why the state budget process never gets any better. It seems Albany is incapable of buckling down and mastering even the basics of budgeting: Produce it on time, don’t overspend, and don’t abuse the process by packing it with burdensome pork.
It’s the ultimate “You had one job” moment, and all New Yorkers should be paying attention.
Jack Martins represents the 7th State Senate District.
