By Della Hasselle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Gov. David Paterson vetoed a bill Sunday that would have offered rent relief to New Yorkers with HIV or AIDS, saying that the state didn’t have the money to cover the proposed law.
"This is my most difficult veto," Paterson said in a statement. "I recognize, sadly, the history of the inadequacy of services government has brought to bear with those with HIV/AIDS."
"But, unhappily, this is not the only veto decision I have had to make that could adversely affect innocent New Yorkers who are seriously ill or disabled and who look to government for assistance. Yet, I am duty bound."
Had it passed, it would have prevented people working with HIV/AIDS services in the city from paying only 30 percent of their income on rent. The Division of Budget, however, estimates the bill would cost over $20 million to the state and the city, according to Paterson’s office.
The bill was passed in the Senate in April, only to be shut down by Paterson five months later.
Shortly after the bill was signed, Mayor Michael Bloomberg issued a statement supporting Paterson’s decision.
"This is not the time for unfunded mandates, no matter how well-intentioned," Mayor Bloomberg said in a statement.
"In vetoing this costly legislation, Governor Paterson has made a difficult and wise decision that will save the taxpayers of the State and City millions of dollars, demonstrating the courage to control spending in this difficult fiscal climate."
Advocates for the bill said that the affordable housing would have offered over 11,000 New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS critical relief.
In a joint statement, speaker Christine C. Quinn and General Welfare Committee chair Annabel Palma and Legislation Chair Helen Diane Foster criticized Paterson’s decision.
"This bill would have provided critical relief to people living with HIV/AIDS who currently pay as much as 70 percent of their income towards rent, leaving many of them to live on about $11 a day," the statement said.
"But instead, these New Yorkers have been left to fend for themselves when now, in the midst of a recession, they need the most assistance."
