ALBANY, N.Y. -- New York State Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch has a five-year plan for the state budget to get spending under control.

It includes requiring balanced budgets through the fiscal year. It also includes borrowing up to $2 billion a year for the next three years to fix the state's finances.

The plan would create an independent financial review board under a law that could empower a governor to make spending cuts to balance budgets without a legislature's approval.

Lawmakers will have to approve Ravitch's proposal. Ravitch has a long history of dealing with fiscal crises in New York.

Governor Paterson issued a response to the lieutenant governor's proposal.

The governor said, "...At its core, his plan reflects our shared view that New York's finances are on an unsustainable path and that true structural fiscal reform is urgently needed to control spending. Given the lieutenant governor's considerable experience and expertise, his proposals deserve to be heard and discussed as we move forward toward the final enacted budget."

Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch

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