ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Protesters yelling “tax the rich” have stormed into a legislative hearing on the New York state budget.
A few dozen activists, many carrying signs, interrupted Tuesday morning’s Albany hearing, which is focused on state tax policy. Many demonstrators stood between lawmakers and the table where those offering testimony sit.
The group called on lawmakers to raise taxes on the state’s highest earners to increase funding for schools.
After several minutes of chanting the group filed out of the auditorium.
Such outbursts are not allowed at legislative hearings but lawmakers took the interruption in stride.
Senate Finance Chairwoman Catharine Young, a Republican from Olean (OH’-lee-an) in western New York, joked that the protest “woke everybody up.”
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, a Bronx Democrat, has proposed higher taxes on millionaires. The Republican-led Senate opposes the idea.
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