ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - In New York state government news, legislators in Albany are taking a weeklong winter break ahead of their toughest work of the year.
  
Members of the Assembly and Senate hope to approve a new state budget before April 1. But first they'll have to figure out how to eliminate a $4.4 billion budget deficit and decide whether to support Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo's call to restructure the state tax code in response to the recently enacted federal tax changes.
  
Meanwhile, Republicans in the Senate are calling for the elimination of one of Cuomo's signature economic development programs. They say the results from the program initially known as START-UP have been lackluster, and that funds should be redirected to other efforts to boost the state's economy.