Senator Rhoads End of Session Summary

It’s no secret that over the last several years, Albany’s one-party rule has been taking New York State in the wrong direction. Higher taxes, increased spending, new mandates, and policies that favor criminals over community safety are just some of the actions forced upon Long Islanders by the Governor, the New York City politicians who control the State Legislature, and their supporters in Albany.   

Fighting for our communities and standing up for the issues that matter most to us is exactly why I wanted to serve as a New York State Senator. Throughout the 2023 state legislative session, that’s exactly what our team did.

We began the year by introducing the “Rescue New York” agenda – a comprehensive plan that provides sensible, commonsense solutions to fix the serious problems confronting our state. The plan would make New York safer, stronger, more affordable and more free. It would repeal the disastrous, broken cashless bail law that created a revolving door for criminals and prioritized them over law-abiding residents. It would also cut taxes for residents, control state spending, and create jobs by improving New York’s worst-in-the-nation business climate. This plan is essential to change many of the factors that are leading New York in the wrong direction—reckless criminal justice policies, runaway spending, and high taxes—and we will continue to fight for its passage. 

We protected our suburban quality of life and worked in a bipartisan manner to defeat Governor Hochul’s plan to override local zoning laws and force high-density, high-rise housing buildings within a half-mile radius of Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) stations. This proposal would have forced residents in single-family homes to have apartment buildings put up next to their houses, eliminated our communities’ ability to determine for themselves how they grow, and virtually destroyed the suburban character of our neighborhoods—the very reason many of us decided to live here in the first place.  

When faced with the latest State Budget in 13 years and a Budget that has increased spending by 35% under one-party rule in just 5 years, we spoke out and voted against some of the other completely misguided proposals that are moving New York State in the wrong direction, including the Governor’s plan to ban natural gas in newly constructed homes; congestion pricing, which is just another tax on commuters; Clean Slate law enabling convicted felons to hide their criminal backgrounds; public financing of campaigns; legislation providing free healthcare benefits to illegal immigrants; and radical changes to election laws and the way Long Islanders cast their votes in local elections.

We continued the fight for more affordable water for South Shore residents by introducing legislation to provide state funding for the South Nassau Water Authority to fulfill its mission to study, negotiate, and report on a possible transition from Liberty Water, a private for-profit company, to public water so voters can make an informed decision—just as the state is already providing for the North Shore Water Authority for the same purpose. 

We successfully delivered much needed funding for local food banks to address food insecurity in our communities, a serious problem which is being worsened by sky-high inflation that is driving up food prices. 

These are just a few of the actions we took during the 2023 legislative session to put New York State back on the right track. Session may be over, but our work is not done. We will continue standing up for the issues that matter most to our communities and the hard-working taxpayers.