To many Central New Yorkers, the Great New York State Fair means that summer is soon coming to an end. During my many trips to the Fair this year, I was able to meet and talk with many residents of Central New York as well as others from across the state. I enjoyed hearing from people living in the 129th District and others. Listening not only to concerns, but hearing from people who are the beneficiaries of what New York state provides for its residents. It’s conversations like this that are important to me as a legislator.
As an elected official, my main concern is serving the people in my district and working to create government policies that are fair and just for all. This past legislative session was productive, and although some bills may not seem very interesting, they affect the businesses, municipalities and residents of our great state and are important to how we operate.
Twelve bills that I sponsored were passed in both the Assembly and the Senate this year. As of today, six of those bills were signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. They include an important new law that will allow the city of Syracuse to crack down on absentee landlords for unpaid code violations by allowing those fines to be attached to their property tax bill.
Of the bills still pending review by the governor is a bill that will streamline state approval for new beer labels that will benefit the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Baldwinsville and brewers across the state (A.9996-B). This bill will reduce “red tape” and approval times for new beer labels, allowing producers to get their new products to market faster.
Additional bills waiting for approval include a bill to reduce paperwork and costs to municipal governments when they have to register vehicles with the state (A.6926-A) and legislation that will allow the ACT college entrance exam to be offered on additional dates for high school students (A.11022-A). Again, these are not headline-grabbing bills, but they will hopefully make the lives of municipalities, businesses and residents a bit easier. I am hopeful the governor will sign these and my other outstanding bills by the end of the year.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call my office at (315) 428-9651, or email me at [email protected].
