State Senator Bill Stachowski said the 2006 legislative session ended with a flurry of agreements on tough new anti-crime measures, critical child and family funding, and a property tax rebate program, but brought no significant reforms to create a more transparent and open government.

“Let me start by acknowledging what we did accomplish this year: an expanded DNA databank that will put more violent criminals behind bars, an agreement to end the statute of limitations on rape and other sexual assaults that will bring more sex offenders to justice, a property tax rebate for overburdened homeowners and the creation of a Medicaid Inspector General’s office to help root out fraud,” Senator Stachowski said. “These agreements, that will soon become law, represent major breakthroughs after years of debate and will help bring a positive change in New Yorkers’ lives.”

“With that being said, let me tell you why I believe this year’s session was one of missed opportunities. We had all the incentive in the world to finally close the deal on a host of sweeping reforms that would have transformed our state government,” Senator Stachowski said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. No Senate rules reform. No real ethics reform. No campaign finance reform. No expanded Conference Committees. No redistricting reform. No fundamental reform of our Medicaid system. The list goes on and on.”

The Senator said he would have liked to see a continuance of the leadership meetings held during budget talks, where the Governor and four legislative leaders could meet every week to work on fundamental reforms and critical legislation affecting New Yorkers. From these meetings rank-and-file members and the public could have been included in the debate. It seems as if only that sort of public pressure gets the right legislation on the table.”

It is unfortunate that politics drives many of these agreements, not a commitment to real reform,” he added. “In a sense, some of these compromises come down to what will play well during a reelection campaign and what issues make good sound bites. But don’t be fooled. That’s not real change. Not the kind that brings real reform.”

“We all agree that New Yorkers are being overwhelmed by local property taxes. That’s why I voted in favor of the rebate checks for homeowners,” said Senator Stachowski. “But we must also come to terms with the root causes of high property taxes. We simply must do more than cut rebate checks that will have no lasting effect on those taxes,” Stachowski said.

The Senator went on to say that everyone knows that skyrocketing Medicaid costs for counties are one of the major causes of increasing property taxes. “We had an opportunity to truly reform our Medicaid program and put in place antifraud measures with real teeth. What happened instead were special interests watered down the bill,” Senator Stachowski explained. “Is it a step in the right direction? Yes. Will it come close to making the system more efficient or honest? I don’t think so. And that’s why I pledge to keep fighting for true Medicaid reform that protects the safety net for our poor and elderly, while saving billions of dollars a year through efficiency and weeding out fraud.”