Democrats who dominate the Assembly are quietly pushing to insert pork spending into the state budget, leaders in the chamber said.

The state’s ongoing fiscal crunch has meant no new cash for “member items,” state funds directed by legislators to non-profit groups in the areas the represent, since 2009.

Last week, Assembly staffers directed Democratic members in the chamber to submit lists of organizations that were in need of funding, several members said. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, confirmed to the Times Union he would push for their inclusion in a spending plan for the coming fiscal year, which must be in place by April 1.

“Members know their districts best,” Silver said in an interview. “If there are things that we can include in the budget we’d certainly like to. We have no commitments, no guarantees. … But as we close down the budget, you know, it’s possible. There’s a great need out there. There are organizations that are doing the work of government that have been cut in past years, and just keeping them afloat is important.”

In the Capital Region, legislators have previously sent money to organizations like the Mohawk-Hudson Humane Society and Catholic Charities; leaders of these groups say the funds are a welcome boost in their efforts. But the payments have been derided as legislative pork by fiscal conservatives. In some instances, member items have been used to unlawfully enrich organizations that have ties to legislators or their families….

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