Statement from Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine regarding the Governor’s State of the State Address, Upcoming Session

January 6, 2010—“The governor today hit on some key points that align with what I hope we can achieve this year. In this upcoming session and with this budget, there is no getting around the fact that we need to control our spending and change the way Albany has done business for the past 40 years or more. We need to cut spending, rein in taxes and fees, consolidate government agencies and promote job creation through long lasting economic growth.

“Moving forward, we need to enact reforms that include looking at new ways to put together our budget, including performance-based or zero-based budgeting, so we can end this cycle of taking the previous year’s budget and just adding on to it. Ethics reform is also part of the changes we must enact to put our government back on the right track and regain the people’s trust. There’s no doubt we need to tighten our ethics laws.

“My priorities continue to be the priorities of people across this state, including creating jobs, controlling spending, and property tax relief. I’m looking forward to working with my colleagues and the governor to address these issues and make the tough choices that have to be made in order to keep New York strong.”

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