By Mark Scott
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wbfo/local-wbfo-907770.mp3
Albany, NY – Governor David Paterson met with leaders of the State Legislature Wednesday morning. It was a relatively brief meeting at just under 20 minutes and with much less contention than previous ones.
Paterson gave the leaders a deadline for reaching a final agreement on a state budget that is two-and-a-half months late.
"This process has got to end. It's time to set a deadline, and I'm going to set one. This budget will be passed by June 28th," Paterson said. "If this budget is not agreed upon (by then), I will put the rest of my budget plan in an emergency appropriation."
The leaders of both houses of the Legislature accepted the deadline and said they will try to reach an agreement sooner than June 28th deadline.
The governor also said he would reject any budget agreement that calls for borrowing to close a $9.2 billion deficit.
Click the audio player above to hear the leaders meeting now or use your podcasting software to download it to your computer or iPod.