Young says new state budget is "taxpayer-friendly..."

Chautauqua County's State Senator says the $142-billion budget adopted by the legislature has many good points... including the fact it's "taxpayer-friendly."  Olean Republican Cathy Young voted in favor of the spending plan... negotiated by Governor Cuomo and leaders of the Senate and Assembly.  Young says the spending plan meets many of the spending and tax-goals the Senate Majority had set.  That includes hold down the growth in spending to less than 2-percent.  She adds they were also able to save the Basic, and Enhanced STAR Program.  Public school education was another major focus of the 2015-16 spending plan... and, Young says she was pleased to see the near-complete elimination of the "Gap Elimination Adjustment" for school systems in her Senate District.  The GEA was put in place in 2009 when New York state began running multi-billion dollar budget shortfalls.  It diverted money from education to be used elsewhere in the spending plan.  She says eliminating 95-percent of that in local districts was "a major victory."