Govt. shutdown could affect lottery, parks, courts

[Ladywriter 7,783]

link to the fail

ALBANY -- The Paterson administration is preparing state agencies for a potential state government shutdown that could begin as early as Monday at midnight.

A statewide conference call sought to prepare departments for a shutdown if an emergency spending bill is rejected, said three state officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because sensitive budget negotiations continue between the governor and legislative leaders.

Some of the services that could be stopped under a shutdown include safety inspections, lottery games, parks and campgrounds, courts and unemployment offices.

CNY Central apoke with officials from the State Lottery Commission about what might happen in the event of a state government shutdown. The Lottery says that "contingency plans are in place and we are monitoring the situation in Albany". They added that announcements about games will come as events warrant.

When asked about scratch off games, a spokesperson said that tickets on sale would still be on sale. Prizes of up to $600 could still be handled by stores, but if customer service centers are shut down then any prize greater than $600 would not be able to be redeemed until the centers reopen.

The talk of a shutdown prompted state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to issue a terse warning as he released his own list of services that would be suspended in a shutdown.

"Stop talking about a government shutdown and get to work and pass a budget," DiNapoli said. "Instead of playing games with extender bills, it's time to get down to the real task at hand: passing a budget that makes the hard choices about spending that need to be made to put New York back on the road to fiscal sanity."

DiNapoli's list of services on the line included:

-Businesses wouldn't get paid for goods and services provided after June 13.

-Social service payments for children and family services including welfare and food stamps would be frozen.

-Schools wouldn't get funding for education of homeless children.

-153,000 state employees wouldn't get paid on June 23 as scheduled, though bond holders, retirees and taxpayers owed refunds would be paid because that spending requires no legislative authorization.

these assclowns HAVE GOT TO GO

VOTE THE STUPID OUT OF ALBANY