STATEMENT: Griffo responds to Governor’s proposal for new charitable gaming rules

State Senator Joseph Griffo, R-Rome, has released the following statement in response to Governor Cuomo’s announced proposal to modernize charitable gaming rules (text attached below):

I’m pleased the Governor has come around to recognize the importance of making it easier for charitable organizations to raise money, which the Legislature attempted to address last year by passing legislation I had co-sponsored (S7640). However, it is frustrating this has taken so long when we could have resolved this issue months ago.

As legislators, we are tasked with passing new laws to help address many of the problems and concerns we are presented with, such as the obstacles charitable organizations face in raising funds. Unfortunately, it has become typical of this Governor to veto legislation we have proposed, only to then turn around and offer his own similar proposal to address the same concern. This tactic frustrates the Legislature because we continue to use up our time trying to address these issues, when we could have had this done right the first time.

It’s not about who gets credit for legislation, and we will still work together with the Executive to get good laws passed. But with all the priorities we have to balance, I don’t think it is the most efficient use of our time to keep going through all these extra steps to achieve the same goal.

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