It should have been no surprise that Gov. David Paterson, with just 20 days to go before New York's 2009-2010 budget needs to be approved, dropped some of the most controversial items from his budget - better known as sin or “nuisance taxes.” This move clearly demonstrates that he could not pass the creation or increases of 137 taxes or fees through both the Assembly and Senate that are controlled by the Democratic Party for the first time in more than three decades.

His movement though, still likely does not pick up any Republican votes for him. They might be helpful, should a Democrat or two, in the narrowly controlled 32-30 Senate, peel off before a crucial final budget vote.

From day one, opponents of the governor's budget proposal have targeted the $1.3 billion in “nuisance taxes” as politically undoable. Those taxes included new fees or taxes on the use of music downloads, sodas, haircuts and movie tickets. Paterson is now taking the easy way out - using an equivalent amount of stimulus package money from Washington to keep his budget proposal revenue neutral. That is only a short-term solution - in two years, when those funds will run out - New York will have to figure out where that revenue can come from, if spending cuts are not made or other revenues generated. Conveniently for Albany, that is after the 2010 elections, when the governor and full Legislature are up for election.

While Paterson and the Legislature may be able to still get a budget deal by April 1, the Democratic majorities and Paterson still shouldn't plan on any GOP votes at this point, even with Paterson's reversal on the nuisance taxes.

For example, Sen. Michael F. Nozzolio isn't any closer than he was before the announcement to signing off on a budget deal. He still believes there are “killer taxes” still on the table. He quickly points to nearly $2.8 billion that includes what he considers “hidden” taxes on gasoline - something that will dramatically impact upstate New Yorkers who don't utilize and more importantly don't have access to cheap and convenient mass transit. Add into this the impact this may have on the agricultural community with farm equipment and this is a non starter. Coupled into this nearly $3 billion, according to Nozzolio, is an 11 percent health insurance premium fee/tax that makes Paterson's proposal more onerous.

The bottom line is that if Democrats are going to want to pass a budget, they are going to have to do it without any votes on the GOP side of the aisles in either house, even with Paterson's latest move.

Cosentino is a former mayor of Auburn and can be contacted at cozguytho@aol.com