By The Capitol
December 15th, 2008
By Assembly Member José PeraltaThe Federal government recently gave $700 billion dollars to bail out multibillion-dollar business empires after their head-in-the-sand chiefs arrogantly collected million-dollar bonuses for the poor decisions and oversights, to steer their businesses and the entire world into a freefall rollercoaster ride, which perilously put us all in ...
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By The Capitol
December 15th, 2008
By Paul OrumIn New York and across the country there are manufacturers, water utilities and other chemical facilities that threaten surrounding communities with the possibility of a catastrophic toxic gas release. New York alone has some 120 facilities that each threaten at least 1,000 nearby residents.According to the Department of Homeland Security and numerous security ...
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By The Capitol
December 15th, 2008
For years, the Democratic members of the State Senate have been complaining about the Republican majority, and the state’s downward trajectory that they argue has been the result.No doubt, few could say what exactly the senators in the Republican conference stood for or did in recent years, yet just about everyone knew that they had bigger offices and lulus, power to ...
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By The Capitol
November 13th, 2008
By Hon. Joseph Bruno There is no small irony that one of the world’s most sophisticated computer chip manufacturing facilities will be built in the State of New York under the umbrella of the Foundry Company, recalling an earlier era of molten steel and iron men. It is an appropriate designation since our past is still teaching the present about how best to reinvent New ...
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By The Capitol
November 13th, 2008
By K.T. MacFarlandAfter a long and steady decline, the New York Republican Party has finally died. For one of the only times in history, our entire state political power structure is controlled solely by Democrats. The tragedy is the only people who didn’t see it coming—or if they did, were unwilling to do anything about it—were the Republican leaders ...
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By The Capitol
November 13th, 2008
By State Sen. Joseph Griffo
Presidential elections should be a time when the entire nation is galvanized into action through a vibrant democracy because every citizen has a voice in setting the nation’s direction for the next four years. Sadly, that is not the reality. By late October, 12 to 15 swing states are all that matters in presidential campaigns. Much of the ...
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By The Capitol
November 13th, 2008
Mayor Michael Bloomberg did a good job of reigniting the debate over term limits in New York City last month before deftly disposing of the opposition in one of the fastest legislative processes ever to occur in municipal government. There were and still are many opposed to the change, including several local members of the Assembly and State Senate—most notably Hakeem ...
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This election year there is much talk about change and reforms in government. But is it fair that the majority of the blame for what ails our nation be pinned on just a single group? That seems to be what both the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns are trying to do.Senator Barack Obama has proclaimed that lobbyists "drown out the voices of the middle class and ...
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By Susan Pedo
October 13th, 2008
The Bush Administration is moving forward with a proposed new Medicaid rule that would decimate health care for many New Yorkers. The federal cutbacks come at the very time when, due to the economic downturn, many families stand to lose health insurance and access to vital health services.The federal rule would impact hundreds of health centers by lowering reimbursement rates ...
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Dear Editor,While more Long Islanders ride on buses than ever before, the system is in danger of drastic cutbacks. Without adequate funding, many of the 54 routes that crisscross Long Island could be eliminated. The bus line is financed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Nassau County and the state. Without a dedicated stream, these groups will continue to quibble ...
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There is no question that the Legislature should become full-time, meeting from January through December to do a better job tackling the many, many problems that the state has for too long ignored its responsibility to fix. The bloated budget, the lapsed Article X siting law, the ridiculous system of overlapping governments, the property tax climb, the faltering health care ...
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With gas prices at near-record levels and the rise of the horizontal drilling technique to extract underground deposits of natural gas, drilling companies have been emboldened. They believe that there is a very large untapped supply of natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation that extends across the Southern border of upstate New York. With many of that region's landowners ...
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By Russ Haven
September 12th, 2008
When 5,000 New York children suffer injuries resulting in permanent, substantial IQ loss each year, that's an epidemic. These kids will lose seven IQ points, need additional medical care, be more likely to have attention and behavior problems and require special education services. As adults, they'll earn less and be more likely to get entangled in the criminal justice ...
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By The Capitol
September 12th, 2008
With their compatriots from around the country, New York State's political leaders ended the summer at their national conventions. Democrats and Republicans alike cheered as each of their presidential nominees presented himself as the true agent to change how business gets done. "When Washington doesn't work, all its promises seem empty," Barack Obama said. "We're going to ...
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"We're going to end the legislators' vacations and bring them back to Albany to reprioritize the way we manage New York State's finances."Okay, maybe that was not the most diplomatic phrase Gov. David Paterson could have used as he called the Legislature back into session, now that years of irresponsible budgeting have finally caught up with New York. But it does reflect a ...
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By every major indicator, New York State government is heading for tough times, really tough times. The double hit of the housing crisis and Wall Street woes mean less tax revenues for Albany. At the same time, the slowing economy means more demand for social services. Throughout New York State, the numbers of people qualifying for government-funded programs will ...
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By Assembly Member Michele Titus
As Chair of the New York State Assembly Task Force on People with Disabilities, one of my top priorities is to take a close look at the current state of the New York State Medicaid Buy-In program. For those who might not be aware, the Medicaid Buy-In program went into effect in 2003 to allow people with disabilities to buy into the federal Medicaid program in order to maintain ...
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Now that the legislative session is over, the battle for the State Senate shifts to individual races. With senators back in their districts, goes the conventional wisdom, the contests will inevitably focus mostly on local issues and on the candidates themselves.This might prove good news for the Republicans, many of whom believe that voters will favor incumbents who have been ...
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Skelos Needs to Rebuild the House or Risk Losing the ChamberSenator Bruno’s departure from the State Senate offers a unique opportunity for the New York Republican Party to reinvent itself—an opportunity which may be the last one for a generation to reverse the party’s steady decline. As Senator Skelos takes the reigns, he also becomes the leading Republican ...
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Nationwide, one in four women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. The numbers, quite simply, are staggering.In New York State, about 400,000 domestic incidents are reported to police departments each year. In New York City, the NYPD responded to nearly 230,000 violence calls in 2007—more than 600 incidents a day, on average.In response to this, six ...
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Public opinion polls reverberate with record levels of dissatisfaction that people have in their elected officials. Public confidence in the efficiency, efficacy and honesty of government is at historic lows. This holds true for those in Washington, as well as in Albany. Similarly, what ails Washington is what ails Albany—out- of-control spending, bureaucratic ...
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Almost two years after the Court of Appeals stated that marriage equality was “the Legislature’s problem,” it’s now boiled down to just being a problem with the State Senate. Much has changed in the last two years on this issue, not only here in New York but across the country. Licenses are about to start flowing in California to same-sex couples, ...
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There is going to be a lot of time for politics this year, but as far as getting bills passed in Albany, there may not be a lot of time left for governing. The regular session is quickly coming to an end, each day drawing us closer to that manic last week of negotiating. The clock does not have to run out on the state government.There is much any and every New Yorker should ...
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Health care currently constitutes over 16 percent of our national gross domestic product. As Americans, it behooves all of us to ensure that every health care dollar is spent prudently. The importance of doing so is particularly amplified in the area of pre scri ption medicine. This concern impacts both the way physicians prescribe medicines and the way pharmacists fill those ...
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Consider the Local Government Burden, TooTo the Editor:Since The Power Grid on Per Capita State Budget Spending surfaced in your April issue—at the height of tax season—readers of The Capitol no doubt put the Grid’s data in perspective as they licked the stamps and sent off their tax filings. While state spending per capita in New York is itself not as high ...
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A lot of fuss was made about the budget being a week and a half late. Turns out that it was about 11 and a half weeks early. The only way to responsibly plan a budget is to have an accurate sense of revenues before determining spending. There is a reason why 46 of the 50 states synchronize their budget deadlines with the end of the fiscal year on June 30—and why three of ...
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A New Standard Bearer for Republicans, a New Standard for the New York GOP
November 7, 2006 was Black Tuesday for Republicans. The party suffered ignominious defeat nationally, and nowhere more so than here in New York. Today, for the first time in over 60 years, no Republican holds statewide office. And while Republican candidates do still prevail in local races in pockets throughout the state, even those areas are shrinking fast. The GOP is ...
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By K.T. McFarlandComplaining about government is a favorite pastime of most Americans. But once we’re done grousing and blowing off a little steam, we usually get on with normal life. It takes a lot to get Americans in a rebellious mood. But when they get there, somebody had better start paying attention. Recently, a number of New York county executives and leaders ...
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By K.T. McFarlandComplaining about government is a favorite pastime of most Americans. But once we’re done grousing and blowing off a little steam, we usually get on with normal life. It takes a lot to get Americans in a rebellious mood. But when they get there, somebody had better start paying attention. Recently, a number of New York county executives and leaders ...
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David Paterson campaigned in 2006 on the promise of adding substance and meaning to the office of lieutenant governor. The office, he insisted, would be forgotten no longer. Now, due to circumstances beyond anyone’s anticipation, the office will essentially cease to exist for three-quarters of what was to be Paterson’s transformative term. Sure, in the interim, Joe ...
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There is no excuse—not one—for the failure to hold a vote on congestion pricing. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposal to radically alter the traffic system in the Big Apple was far-reaching, and would undoubtedly have transformed Manhattan below 60th Street, as well as the surrounding area, and the lives of those who lived anywhere near where the ...
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The New York State Legislature and Gov. Spitzer have the opportunity to take two actions in 2008 that will preserve and expand the arts in New York for many years to come. First, I call upon the Senate to pass S. 1327-A/A. 272-A, my legislation that has already passed the Assembly this year to create a check-off on State personal income tax returns for the New York State ...
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Despite the forced smiles and spin-doctoring going on outside the Senate majority offices last week, there was no hiding the fact that a wake was taking place inside. Republican Will Barclay’s defeat should be seen as the canary in the coal mine—and the canary has died. If an excellent candidate like Barclay couldn’t win in a district with a 30,000 Republican ...
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The halls of the Capitol emptied out in the weeks and days leading up to the special election to succeed Sen. James Wright, with Republicans and Democrats alike decamping from Albany to man the battle stations across the North Country. Now that they are back, they should come together to finally do something significant to reform the special election process. The call for ...
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By The Capitol
February 11th, 2008
In the 2008 State of the State Address, Gov. Eliot Spitzer offered several proposals to attempt to help close New York State’s budget deficit. As part of this statewide initiative, I have re-introduced Senate Bill No. 774 to ensure that New York State promptly receives all of the sales tax revenues to which it is entitled. This bill could increase the state’s ...
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Super Tuesday’s results are in and once again the pollsters, pundits and pols got it wrong. Months ago they were predicting the Republicans could go all the way to convention without a clear frontrunner, while the Democrats would know theirs by February 6th. Oops. John McCain, who the experts had pronounced dead just six months ago, has risen like Lazarus to all ...
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By The Capitol
February 11th, 2008
At a time when fears of a recession are increasing and voter confidence in the State Legislature remains low, giving a pay raise to the members of the Assembly and State Senate seems totally counterintuitive. And yet, a pay raise is precisely the right thing to do—provided that the job itself is reshaped too. It is true that the current annual base salary of $79,500 is ...
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By State Sen. Liz KruegerThe goal of our State Legislature should be to serve the public good by passing laws that fix problems, fill loopholes and protect New Yorker's rights. But sometimes there are bills that are riddled with errors, create new problems where none currently exist, or completely ignore the real problem at hand—all because the sponsors have another, ...
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By K.T. McFarlandWhen more than 75 percent of people agree on something in this country, we had better pay attention. Three-quarters of Americans think the country is headed in the wrong direction. Less than 20 percent think Congress is doing a good job, and only slightly more approve of the president. Numbers like that don’t just point to a new political movement. ...
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He only needed five months. That is how much time Joe Bruno needed to recover the upper hand after Eliot Spitzer’s “Rip Van Winkle” inaugural address. Backed into a corner, up against a new governor whom everyone expected to be a steamroller even before he proclaimed himself one, Joe Bruno took his lumps. Word of the FBI investigation got out, the majority ...
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For too long the Empire State has languished while the rest of the country prospered. Our central cities—once the economic hubs of the region—are withering as resources are directed to farther and farther outlying suburbs. Working-class families are working harder than ever just to keep up, with little chance of moving ahead. Recent college graduates face slim job ...
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I am a lifelong Republican. Last year, I ran for the U.S. Senate from New York. I did so not because I figured I could beat Hillary Clinton, but to offer voters an alternate vision for the Republican Party. Why? Because most people don’t think Republicans stand for anything anymore. Our national leadership has been so preoccupied with social issues, most of which ...
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With his recently announced Working Families Food Stamp Initiative, Gov. Spitzer has made low-income working families a priority. The governor noted when announcing this effort to simplify applications for food stamps that, “by expanding access to the program, fewer families will be forced to risk missing work in order to put food on the table.”We commend the ...
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By The Capitol
November 13th, 2007
The Hevesi exit. The comptroller selection panel. The decision to ignore the panel. The steamroller comment. The to-the-wire budget negotiations. The end of session stalemate. Troopergate, Choppergate—whichever name the scandal has these days. The driver’s license debacle. Oh, what an 11 months this has been. To everyone paying attention, the obvious question is: ...
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