SERINO: STATE OF THE STATE – PUT ASIDE POLITICS FOR A BETTER NEW YORK

ALBANY, NY—Senator Sue Serino (R, C, I—Hyde Park) released the following statement in response to today’s State of the State Address (SOS):

“The Governor began his address on an important note—acknowledging the fact that the state is facing a massive hole in our state budget. He then went on to provide a laundry list of expensive initiatives he hopes to pursue, however, he left many of us wondering how exactly he plans to pay for any of it.

While I was encouraged to hear points on which we can agree including:

• The critically necessary push to combat sexual harassment and end the use of taxpayer dollars to fund secret settlements;
• The emphasis on preserving and protecting the Hudson River, one of our community’s greatest resources;
• The need to aggressively combat the heroin and opioid epidemic that has devastated the lives of too many of our neighbors;
• The need to restore the public’s trust in our government and the push to improve public safety and combat terrorism;
• The need to continue to invest in infrastructure, health care and education

While I understand the State of the State does not include all of the initiatives we expect to see proposed in his Executive Budget, I was frustrated to hear that once again important initiatives were left out including, the need to more effectively combat the Lyme and tick-borne disease epidemic, measures that would truly help keep people here in New York, programs that improve affordability for seniors on a fixed income, veterans coming home to our communities and families struggling to make ends meet.

Too many people right now are being forced to choose between raising their thermostats to keep from freezing and putting food on the table, and that’s just not right. We need to deliver a more affordable New York to ensure our communities can thrive.

Moving forward, I plan to work with my colleagues to steer our state in the right direction.  We need to be discussing ways to cut spending, increase government efficiency, and invest in small businesses and community initiatives that create jobs and environments that compel young people to start their lives here and enable our seniors to maintain their quality of life when they retire. What we cannot support, however, are tax increases, or failed economic policies that drive residents and businesses out of the state.

Since taking office, I have been able to bring results home by working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and I will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that this year’s budget delivers for our local community and focuses on creating opportunity, improving affordability and keeping our neighbors here in our community.”

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