State of the State Opens 2018 Legislative Session

“Today’s State of the State Address is the start of an important Legislative session in Albany.  New York faces many challenges in the year ahead, including a budget gap of several billion dollars.

I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to balance this year’s budget without raising taxes by controlling spending and exercising fiscal restraint.  We must continue to control the size and cost of government by making a cap on state spending permanent and we have to protect hard working New Yorkers by maintaining the state’s property tax cap. 

We must also make education a priority and ensure that funding for schools is distributed fairly and equitably across the state.

We need to reduce unnecessary regulations on businesses, which serve as obstacles to success, and we must work to make New York more competitive and to encourage growth and job creation.

I also join the Senate majority in calling for comprehensive efforts to enhance safety and security for all New Yorkers.  As a former State Trooper and Sheriff, and Chair of the Senate Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and Correction, I will work to make New York a leader in the fight against heroin and opioid addiction, terrorism and crimes against women and children.”