Senator Saland Responds To 2005 State Of The State Address

Senator Steve Saland (R,C Poughkeepsie) responded today to Governor Pataki’s 2005 State of the State Address.

"The Governor’s announcement today that IBM, Sony, Toshiba, Samsung, Infineon, AMD and Charter will join together and invest $1.9 billion to build a new chip plant in East Fishkill is exciting news for the Hudson Valley," said Senator Saland. "Having the most advanced 300mm wafer chip making plant in the world right in our own backyard will be a great boost to our local economy as well as the economy of New York State."

"I am pleased that the Governor is again committed to reducing taxes," said Senator Saland. "Accelerating the phase-out of the temporary personal income tax increase and enacting STAR Plus would both be very positive steps to take."

"Maintaining the quality of education will continue to be my top priority this session," said Senator Saland. "I will again work to be certain that our local school districts are adequately funded. I will continue to work with the Governor as we seek a statewide solution to the issue of school funding."

" I am pleased that the Governor remains committed to reforming the state budget process," said Senator Saland. "It is imperative that we get a budget reform plan in place as early in the session as possible."

"As a member of the Joint Legislative Conference Committee on Budget Reform and as Chair of the Senate Education Committee I will be closely involved in the efforts to address these challenges and craft viable solutions sooner rather than later," said Senator Saland.

"The Governor and the Senate recognize the need to reform Medicaid and relieve the burden on our state and local governments," said Senator Saland. "I look forward to advancing a plan this session which will not only address the need to reduce the costs of Medicaid, particularly its impact on local property taxpayers, but also establish cost containment measures.

"Today we heard an outline of the Governor’s plans for the year ahead," said Senator Saland. "The details of these proposals will be revealed in the budget in a few weeks at which point we will be able to present our exact legislative response."