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News
from
Senator
Stachowski
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| April 10,
2008 STACHOWSKI UPBEAT WITH NEW BUDGET State spending plan focuses on education, upstate. New York State Senator Bill Stachowski returned to his Buffalo office today, bleary eyed after a twenty-day stint in Albany, working on a budget for the coming year. Clearly frustrated by a lack of transparency that previous "budget reform" laws were enacted to provide to New Yorkers, the Senator nonetheless was encouraged with the new spending plan which focuses on funding for education and upstate initiatives. "Although the passage of the budget was held up by issues such as teacher tenure and congestion pricing for lower Manhattan -- two issues which I believe should have been dealt with outside of the budget -- we have sent the Governor a plan which provides substantial resources for our public schools and for upstate economic development. The increased money for education alone, $1.8 billion above last year's numbers, is impressive given our fiscal challenges this year" the Senator explained. The Senator also touted the new comprehensive Upstate Revitalization Proposal, which carries with it an appropriation of $700 million to stimulate the local economy. "I was heartened by the fact that Governor Paterson followed up on the former Governor's promise to help out our end of the state. Once we have these funds in hand we can get to work on revitalizing our communities." The $121.7 billion budget is less than the budget proposed by former Governor Spitzer earlier this year. Many of the taxes and fees that he proposed were not included in the 2008-2009 plan. The proposal to quadruple the state's motor vehicle insurance fee to $20 was dropped, as was the plan mockingly called the "crack tax," which would have taxed drug dealers on drugs confiscated by the authorities, along with a plan to eliminate the tax cap on fuel purchases. Residents will see their STAR tax rebates again this year, albeit at last year's levels. Senior citizens should receive a higher amount than previously provided. "We've kept our promise to nursing homes, by assuring the full $85 million in state funding that was part of last year's budget agreement" Stachowski said. "We're also using state funding to expand Child Health Plus to reach uninsured children in more working families." The Senator also noted that a new EPIC discount card will be available for New Yorkers aged 50-64 and New Yorkers with disabilities who are eligible for SSI and SSD. "These are folks who were ineligible for EPIC benefits in the past, and I feel this coverage fills a real void for these needy citizens." Looking to New York's infrastructure, Senator Stachowski was proud of the fact that the Legislature restored $9 million in proposed cuts and added $51 million in new funding for the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS) to pay for capital improvements to local roads and bridges undertaken by counties, cities, towns and villages. Obviously everything is not perfect with the state budget. "The deficit we were facing needed to be eliminated, and that required some difficult choices" Stachowski said. "However, I think next year will provide us with the opportunity to do the kind of hard-core cutting that we need to do instead of balancing the budget on those who need services, on the middle class or people who are lucky enough to make a million dollars. The situation involving Mr. Spitzer left us in an undesirable situation at an unfortunate time. It's my view that Governor Paterson will become more of a force not only during the remainder of 2008, but once he can start shaping his policy on the state's fiscal needs. I can confidently say that we've done the best we could given the diverse needs of the state and the stalled national economy." -
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For
Information:
Dennis Kozuch 826-3344 senstachowski@yahoo.com |