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State Representatives Report On Legislative Activities In Albany

WAMC/Pat Bradley

A packed room of business and non-profit leaders from across the northern tier gathered Friday morning to hear from their state representatives on the progress of initiatives in Albany.

The Plattsburgh North Country Chamber of Commerce sponsors an annual legislative breakfast in which the region’s state senator and assembly representatives report on activity in Albany and answer questions.

Plattsburgh North Country Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Garry Douglas took the opportunity to unveil the North Country business confidence index to the crowd — a measure of expected business activity in the next year.   “The internal numbers show a further strengthening. The business going up part actually increased ten percent. Sixty-eight percent indicated they expect their business activity will be up this year, 24 percent steady, for a total of 92 percent confidence in the economy of the North Country.”

With the budget and ethics issues shadowing the capital, the region’s representatives — all Republicans — focused their discussion on those topics.

45th District Senator Betty Little reported that her chamber is working on modifications to the budget and expects to report out of committees by next week.  “We have over $4 billion which we really have to consider as one-shots. Our ideas for that money I believe should be in road construction, not maintenance, and bridges. Also for the MTA for their capital plan and the upstate capital plan. We have a lot of work that needs to be done on our water systems and our sewer systems in all the municipalities. So a billion dollars in each of those would be great,  as well as the money going for economic development.”

115th District Assemblywoman Janet Duprey talked about activities in the Assembly and her appointment to the technologies and ethics search committees.  “I’m hopeful that our new speaker Carl Heastie will make some significant changes. It’s early yet. As you know we spent the first six weeks in absolute limbo. We took two votes actually both for the same reason: to elect a speaker. When that takes six weeks you know there’s a problem in Albany. I also have been appointed to the Ethics Search Committee. If there was ever an executive director in an office that was need to take charge of the ethics reform it’s in the New York State Assembly right now. So I’ve agreed to serve on the committee. There are six of us. There are five Democrats and me so it’s a bipartisan committee.”

114th District Assemblyman Dan Stec told the businesspeople that the governor has some linked some items in his proposed budget that will be difficult to uncouple legislatively.   “It can only be done really through the negotiation process. So it’ll be very interesting to see. Specifically he’s tied TAP funding - the Tuition Assistance Program - to the Dream Act. Which is great politics in New York City. It’s awful politics north of the Tappan Zee. This year the governor’s tried to push that as part of the budget. So if we say no to the Dream Act we all saying no to TAP. That’s not a place where your legislators want to be. A little unusual hardball. It’s a negotiation. But is it appropriate to hold hostage the TAP funding?”

Senator Little notes that there is always gamesmanship over the budget and she is optimistic there will be an on-time budget for the fifth straight year.  “There’s a lot of work going on and we worked really hard to get our proposals together. They will be out in writing early next week. There are meetings taking place with the governor’s office and I know the governor has tied it to ethics. There will be ethics reform. There needs to be. But there was a survey done where people thought it was more important to have an on-time budget than ethics reform. But I think we’re going to have both.”

The Plattsburgh North Country Chamber of Commerce and Assemblywoman Duprey have invited new Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, a Bronx Democrat, to visit the region to learn about North Country issues and meet business leaders.
 

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