Welcome to my weekly wrap up for April 5, 2019
NYS BUDGET FIASCO
New taxes, new fees, new regulations and new laws that make our streets less safe and reduce our freedoms summarizes the NYS recently enacted budget With the exception of making the property tax cap (which unfortunately excludes NYC) permanent this was a no-good news budget that will continue to cause New Yorkers to abandon our state and businesses to close or look to other states to create jobs.
Governor Cuomo used his ability to blackmail the Legislature with the threat of the next phase of their pay raise being negated and even manage to swindle an undeserved 40 percent pay raise for himself. Interestingly, due to a quirk in NYS State law which caps all executive agency salaries at that of the Governor’s, his pay increase will likely result in hundreds of state employees being eligible for increase. The end result of what I feel certain was a poorly thought through action by the legislature will eventually cost the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
It was a budget that had something bad for everyone. If you live downstate and drive, Manhattan is about to become off limits by car . If you live upstate know that there is a whole new set of unfunded mandates. If you live anywhere in the State, the budget implements and funds the DREAM ACT and codifies parts of the Affordable Care Act and Health Exchange Law. The budget also makes policy having absolutely nothing to do with budgeting such as eliminating cash bail – a very dangerous action
And as bad as the budget is to our state’s residents even the progressives thought it was an awful budget because it did not go far enough. Personally I think Stephen King could come up with a new novel based on NYS government.
Stay tuned for further stories about the horrors of Albany. Make sure you make every effort to elect Conservatives to local government – our only line of defense.
PUBLIC CAMPAIGN FINANCING AND FUSION VOTING
A funny thing happened on the way to adopting a budget. The Legislature — against what appeared to be an overwhelming member objection — nevertheless created a Commission to possibly establish a taxpayer funded system of public campaign finance and raise the issue of fusion voting. The advocates are pushing for a six to one match. The end result will be a public financing scheme that will cost over any four- year period as much as $350 million.
As you know fusion voting allows for a candidate running on multiple party lines to combine their votes. What it does not do is effect the legal status of a political party to exist.
The legislature in establishing this commission ceded significant authority to write law. This issue, as it effected last year’s pay raise commission, is currently being litigated in State and Federal Court.
As you can imagine any effort to adjust or eliminate fusion voting concerns us. There are certain to be many turns on this road. And allow me to assure you that we are very much preparing for the fight.