As members of the state Senate and Assembly work to balance the state budget, leaders of both chambers insist the costliest issues are education and health care won’t be touched.

Lawmakers have to close a multibillion dollar deficit by the end of March, and Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan, a Republican, said his colleagues want to even look to new areas to cut taxes.

“We're going to continue to make investments in education and health care, and I'm almost confident that Wall Street, doing as well as it is, we're going to see continued investment in the state of New York,” Flanagan said.

Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan on Tuesday also unveiled a package of tax cuts aimed at businesses and older homeowners. He said the job creation that would be spurred by these changes would help pay for them.