Winner Named Senate Chair Of Legislative Commission On Rural Resources

Albany, N.Y.-- State Senator George H. Winner, Jr. (R-C, Elmira) has been appointed Senate chairman of the Legislative Commission on the Development of Rural Resources.

"I’m honored to have this opportunity within the Legislature to help focus attention on the needs of our rural communities and economies here in the Southern Tier-Finger Lakes region and throughout New York State," said Winner, whose legislative district is comprised of Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben and Yates counties, and a portion of Tompkins County.

The Commission on the Development of Rural Resources was established by the Legislature in 1982 to examine the impact of rural communities and industries on the state economy; review existing state laws and regulations impacting rural regions; assess the effectiveness of state programs and services affecting the needs and problems of rural areas; and develop recommendations for ways the Legislature can act to enhance and protect New York’s rural resources. It’s a bipartisan legislative agency comprised of ten members of the Assembly and Senate, including a chairman appointed by each respective house.

Forty-four of New York’s sixty-two counties are designated as rural, Winner said, and the Commission has been involved over the past two decades in shaping legislation on a range of issues including agriculture, economic development, education, land use, transportation, local government structure and functions, and health care.

"How these issues are addressed at the state level has an enormous impact on our region," Winner said.

Winnersucceeds the late Senator Patricia K. McGee (R-C, Franklinville) as the commission’s Senate chair.

"Senator Pat McGee was the Legislature’s voice for rural affairs. She established a benchmark for rural advocacy that we can only hope to carry on," said Winner.