Stachowski Calls Governor’s 2008 State of the State Address a Sound Blueprint for New York’s Future

Buffalo Lawmaker Cites Upstate Economic Revitalization, Property Tax Relief, Medicaid Reform, and NO New Tax Increases as Vital Components of this Year’s State of the State Address

State Senator William T. Stachowski (D-Buffalo) characterized the Governor’s 2008 State of The State Address as “a good picture of what we have accomplished, but more importantly, one that clearly tells us what still needs to be done.”

Senator Stachowski, the Senate’s Ranking Democratic Member on the Finance Committee, said it is imperative that the Governor and Legislature put aside their current differences and work together to do the business of the people.

“We must all work together to get this State moving again, and we must not continually be distracted by partisanship ploys that only serve to delay the work we must do for the people we were elected to represent” said Senator Stachowski.

“Of utmost importance is the revitalization of our Upstate economy, and I’m pleased to see that the Governor meets this challenge head-on in his State of the State address with a $1 billion Upstate Revitalization Fund proposal that would provide a much-needed and substantial infusion of capital into Upstate economic development initiatives. As I have been saying for quite some time, we can no longer afford the status quo and we need to get our Upstate economy moving. This proposal would go a very long way toward achieving this goal.”

Stachowski also especially applauded Governor Spitzer’s call in his address for no new tax increases. “The people of New York are already grappling with taxes that are too high, and we must find a solution to this pressing problem,” the Buffalo lawmaker said. I was pleased to hear the Governor state his intention to hold the line on taxes.”

Stachowski also noted that while progress was made this past year in easing the property tax burden of New York’s homeowners through the largest target tax rebates in New York’s history, more must be done to help our middle-class property taxpayers.

“Easing the burden of property taxes on our middle class homeowners must continue to be a priority, and I was proud to support an additional $1.3 billion in Property Tax Relief this past year, and a total of $5 billion in relief through the STAR program, including $940 million in relief for our seniors,” Senator Stachowski said. “High property taxes create an unwelcome burden on middle class New Yorkers, and we must continue to enact further reforms that will work to address this crisis.”

“With this in mind, I am pleased that the Governor has proposed to provide more targeted rebates to middle class homeowners, to implement effective mandate relief for our school districts and local governments, and to create a bipartisan Property Tax Commission to develop real reforms and place a fair tax cap on property taxes. These are very sound initiatives, and representative the type of action we MUST take to address this unfair tax burden faced by New York’s middle class, which is after all, its backbone.”

Senator Stachowski said that in addition to Upstate economic revitalization, property tax relief, and Medicaid reimbursement reform, other important proposals included in the Governor’s State of the State Address include:

• Sound investment and increased accountability for our education system;

• Introducing Sub-Prime Lending Legislation to provide additional protections for New York’s homeowners;

• Redeployment of State Police to Upstate communities with the greatest pockets of violence, & to help Operation IMPACT

• Implementation of Paid Family Leave to help New Yorkers care for a seriously ill family member

"While the challenges before us are great, I continue to believe that by working  together, we can achieve much for the people of New York. As the top ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee, I look forward to continuing my partnership with Governor Spitzer and my Legislative colleagues to achieve our common vision of building a strong prosperous State, and to improving the quality of life for all New Yorkers,” Senator Stachowski concluded.

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