$aving Green: Addressing New York State’ s Fiscal Crisis & Protecting the Environment outlines a few simple ways to responsibly “green” state spending and address the state’s fiscal crisis while protect- ing our natural resources. The follow-up to our first report on the state budget, Wa$ted Green, $aving Green highlights questionable spending, misaligned tax credits that promote pollution, an energy boon- doggle in the making, and a power subsidy program that removes incentives to conserve energy.

In July 2008, Governor David Paterson estimated that without cutting costs, New York’s out-year bud- get deficit would reach $1.2 billion. Even after the Governor and Legislature took steps to cut spending, New York still faces a $1.5 billion shortfall, which may continue to grow. State revenues continue to fall while the federal government takes unprecedented action to shore-up ailing financial institutions and the clouds of worldwide economic recession gather in the distance. To get New York’s fiscal house in order, Governor Paterson called lawmakers back to Albany in November 2008 to consider another round of budget cuts, although no agreements were reached.