ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Advocates for AIDS patients, the poor, the elderly and the imprisoned said Gov. George Pataki is holding their state funding hostage as retribution against the legislature.

Some programs will close within weeks without an agreement on $200 million of so-called pork-barrel spending, advocates said.

“In what appears to be a case of sour grapes, Gov. Pataki is allowing important programs to wither on the vine,” said Ron Deutsch of the Statewide Emergency Network for Social and Economic Security.

Officials from the coalition of nonprofit groups said that programs are threatened because Pataki hasn’t released the funding that was part of the current budget. They said the funding is crucial to services for people suffering from AIDS and HIV, prisoners in need of mental health and legal services, the elderly and the poor. The services are sometimes required under the state constitution.

“It’s dangerous to hold these moneys hostage,” said Patti Jo Newell of the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The spending has “long been essential to providing safety and support to women who are abused and their children.”

The funding is part of the member items or pork-barrel spending long criticized as using taxpayer money as political favors for incumbents to help them return to office. Although some of the funding goes to these nonprofit groups, member items also support popular local projects, youth leagues, civic groups and once even a small cheese museum.

“There is no legal appropriation for these items,” said Andrew Rush of Pataki’s budget office.

The legislature passed a 2003-04 budget in May over Pataki’s objections. Lawmakers then overrode Pataki’s 119 vetoes to enact the $93 billion budget that includes $200 million in member items.

Pataki has said the legislature’s budget tried to usurp spending authority reserved for the governor under the constitution.

The Republican-led Senate later approved “clean-up” legislation that Pataki wanted before he said the constitution would allow him to release the funds, $30 million of which would be spent at Pataki’s discretion. The Assembly has refused to pass the same clean-up bill.

“New Yorkers know no governor has worked harder to fight AIDS, combat domestic violence and provide help for our seniors,” said Rush. “This is simply political grandstanding to cover up for a complete failure by the Assembly’s Democratic majority.”

Assembly officials said there is no plan to return to Albany over the member-item issue.

“The legislature acted twice to ensure this funding, first by passing a bipartisan, balanced constitutional fiscal plan and second by overriding the governor’s veto,” said Sisa Moyo, spokeswoman for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. She said Pataki is “picking and choosing” programs he wants to fund from the budget passed by the legislature.

Although he raised constitutional objections to most of the budget, he has released much of the funding in it, including school aid. Officials of some nonprofit agencies said that they had received some state funding.