We applaud Gov. George Pataki for his decision to veto the Legislature's budget reform plan, but not for his rationale.

The Legislature's reform package only provides more excuses for legislators, not results. Their proposal included moving the fiscal year from April 1 to May 1. It would also automatically install a contingency budget on May 1 - the previous year's budget - if the Senate and Assembly had not passed their own by the deadline.

Lawmakers' answer to 20 years of late budgets should not be 'We need more time.'

The fiscal year has begun on April 1 since 1943. The governor's executive budget proposal is made in January.

That's plenty of time, especially given that Albany's exclusive system of power broker government eliminates the voices of many of our elected officials.

Less debate, no conference committees that perform any real function ... with only three people running state government, you'd think two months of closed-door discussion would be plenty, right?

And by allowing the state to automatically install a contingency budget, lawmakers believe they'll be able to save face with their constituents. Many supporters of the bill have even clouded the facts, suggesting that this bill guarantees an on-time budget.

No, it guarantees a contigency budget. It does not guarantee that legislators do their jobs on time.

In fact, the governor believes this reform bill will actually inspire lawmakers to wait until a contingency budget is installed, at which time they can modify the contingency plan with no heed paid to Pataki's initial budget proposal.

The governor wants to retain the power of his office in dictating the terms of budget discussion, and therefore vetoed the Legislature's plan.

We agree with the governor's decision, but not his basis for doing so