The state owes billions and billions in unpaid bills and now those waiting for overdue checks will include legislators.

On Sunday Comptroller Leslie Munger announced that she would start treating paying salaries for the General Assembly and Constitutional officers the same as other governmental payments. That means they will be delayed. Munger says that the line is a long one to wait in and the salaries of 177 individuals isn’t a huge amount of money, $1.3 million a month, but it’s a sign that everyone is in the budget stalemate together.

The payment vouchers will go in each month but now they will follow in line with other payments to social service agencies, businesses and other vendors waiting for payment. Lawmakers get paid once and month at the end of the month. As the state’s backlog currently state payments are delayed a minimum of 2 months.