Budget ‘Robs Peter to Pay Paul’
Apr 8, 2013
Last week, I talked about the State Budget in this column, and this week, I wanted to expand on some elements in the budget. We passed a $141.2 billion spending plan before the April 1 deadline but it wasn’t without its problems. One of the biggest...
Budget Misses Opportunity To Move State Ahead
Apr 1, 2013
The 2013-14 New York State budget passed with total spending at $141.2 billion. Overall, we missed our opportunity to create a better state and left things status quo. We missed the chance to make our state friendlier to all businesses and provide real...
Local Roads, Bridges Need More Funding Through NY Works
Mar 18, 2013
I recently joined several local highway officials in Albany to advocate for an increase in state aid for local roads and bridges. With budget negotiations underway, we cannot shortchange our localities and provide them with funding that is inadequate...
Public Dollars Should Not Determine Candidates
Mar 11, 2013
Public financing of political campaigns is on the Governor’s agenda this year. Cuomo said in his State of the State address in January, the state should mimic what New York City has done and publicly fund campaigns. In this column, I want to outline...
We Missed An Opportunity; Instead, New York Passed a Gun Law
Mar 4, 2013
On February 28 there was a gun rally in Albany. There was an estimated 10,000 people who attended from across the state. The rally represented not only those advocating for 2nd Amendment rights but those fighting for democracy. There were thousands of...
Economic Development Plans Fall Short of Fixing State’s Real Problems
Feb 25, 2013
The Governor has set forth his Economic Development plan in his proposed 2013 budget. While there are some ideas that I can support, overall our state would benefit from policies that are fair to all businesses. We should focus on cutting red tape and...
Affordable Care Act on the Horizon: What to Expect
Feb 19, 2013
The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, is on its way to becoming policy. On June 28, 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that “individual mandate was a valid exercise of Congress’ ability to levy taxes.” While I oppose the very idea of requiring citizens...
Assessment on Utility Bills to Continue; Gun Law to be Challenged; Competitive Grants
Feb 4, 2013
This week, I wanted to share with you my thoughts on a few different items of interest happening in Albany.
Energy Tax continues
The 2009 budget contained a new tax for utilities. This, in turn, was, unfortunately, passed down to ratepayers. The...
Proposed Budget Detailed
Jan 28, 2013
The Governor proposed his executive budget on Jan. 22. Overall, it was a status quo budget that did not contain a lot of surprises. I was pleased to see more state aid provided to schools. However, I want to ensure that aid goes to schools that need it...
Building Awareness For Parkinson's Disease
Jan 21, 2013
Parkinson's Disease is a chronic, degenerative neurological disorder that affects one in 100 people over age 60. While the average age at onset is 60, people have been diagnosed as young as 18. There is no objective test, or biomarker, for Parkinson's...
Hurricane Sandy Reminds All of Importance of Smoke, CO Alarms
Nov 12, 2012
The New York state Health Commissioner recently urged residents impacted by Hurricane Sandy to be aware that carbon monoxide (CO) can result from the improper use of alternate power sources. Poisonings from CO are often caused by faulty furnaces, improperly...
I-STOP Becomes Law To Help Combat Prescription Drug Abuse
Sep 3, 2012
New York has a new law called I-STOP that was recently signed by the Governor. I was glad to support this in the Assembly earlier this year. I-STOP is short for “Internet System for Tracking Overprescribing.” This is a “real-time” registry...
New Law Creates Better Access to Jobs Listings, Trainings for Veterans
Aug 27, 2012
Maybe some of you have heard of Dakota Meyer. At the age of 24, Dakota Meyer became the first living Marine in 38 years to receive the nation’s highest award for combat valor, the Medal of Honor. He has written a book that is due out in September which...
Heart Disease Still Leading Cause of Death; Latest CDC Obesity Study Shows Slight Improvement in NY
Aug 20, 2012
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in America, and stroke is the No. 4 cause of death and a leading cause of disability. According to the American Heart Association, heart disease–also called cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease–is...
Fight Against Synthetic Drugs Culminates In Operation Log Jam
Aug 6, 2012
Late last year, I introduced legislation to ban synthetic drugs from our state after many local people were reportedly ending up in the emergency room as a result of synthetic drug use. Many reported high blood pressure, high temperatures, severe paranoia...