New York's fiscal crisis just got worse: State politicians say the state's revenues are $1 billion below Gov. David Paterson's estimate in his 2009-2010 executive budget proposal.
The new estimate means the state's budget deficit is now $14 billion, a figure first released by the Assembly Democrats.
The revenues had to be adjusted to account for recent job loss figures from the federal government, and an ongoing economic decline since Paterson issued his proposal in December.
Paterson agreed on revenues with Senate and Assembly leaders.
It's an important part of budget negotiations, because all parties must agree how much money the state has so they can close the budget gap.
