Senator Stewart-Cousins Appointed to Gov. Cuomo’s Mandate Relief Redesign Team

(Westchester, NY) –  Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins was appointed to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Mandate Relief Redesign Team, joining a group of twenty three business, government, education and labor leaders from across the State of New York. The Commission, created by Executive Order and announced in Governor Cuomo’s State of the State Address last Wednesday, will explore the numerous unfunded or underfunded state mandates on local governments and school districts and determine which are ineffective, wasteful or outdated. The initial recommendations of the Mandate Relief Redesign Team are due to the Governor by March 1^st, 2011, but the Team will continue its review until the end of Fiscal Year 2011- 2012 .  “This Team has an outstanding opportunity to provide much- needed relief to our local governments, who are struggling with revenue shortages and budget deficits,” said Senator Stewart-Cousins. “It is time to get to work on reducing the cost of government in this State and identifying ineffective and wasteful State mandates.”

Senator Stewart-Cousins was recommended to the Mandate Relief Redesign Team by Senate Minority leader John Sampson, and is one of only two State Senators appointed to the team. The task force is chaired by Larry Schwartz who is a Senior Advisor to Governor Cuomo and who also served as Secretary to Governor David Paterson. 

“The formulation of this diverse team sends a clear message to the people of the State of New York that we are ready to work together to tackle this issue. Now, with all of the stakeholders at the table, we can find ways to reduce the burdens of State mandates on local governments,” concluded Senator Stewart-Cousins.