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Hawley critical of state budget

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,I,C-Batavia) expressed his dissatisfaction with the bulk of the 2013-14 state budget, stating that many aspects miss the mark on critical issues. Hawley decried the decision to sweep $1.75 billion from the State Insurance Fund back into unrelated spending rather than refunding employers who overpaid for Workers’ Compensation premiums. The assemblyman also opposed irresponsible measures like funding for the SAFE Act, devastating cuts to programs for people with developmental disabilities, and the extension of the energy tax.

“While there were some bright spots, the bulk of this budget falls short on many critical issues,” Hawley said. “Our families are hurting and our businesses are so overtaxed that they cannot create the jobs New Yorkers need, yet rather than delivering cost relief, this budget repeats the same tax-and-spend mistakes of old.

"Not only does this plan rely on ill-conceived revenue streams like the energy tax to fund unnecessary programs like the SAFE Act, but it fails to support programs for the developmentally disabled, which is an affront to these individuals and their families who need and deserve our help. All of this lands on top of a disastrous tax increase of at least $9.4 billion over the next five years. Unfortunately for New Yorkers, this budget flies in the face of the success we’ve seen over the last two years, and that’s why I opposed the majority of this plan.”

Hawley took particular exception to the extension of the 18-a utility tax, a surcharge passed in 2009 that was scheduled to sunset in 2014. The assemblyman advanced a budget amendment to repeal the fee and also sponsored Assembly Bill 382, which would have rescinded the tax as soon as it was enacted. The newly adopted budget extended the fee, which will cost families and businesses $1.7 billion over the length of the four-year extension.

“The amendment I advanced to repeal this tax would offer immediate relief for our families and businesses from burdensome electricity charges,” Hawley said. “This tax hurts all New Yorkers from Upstate to Downstate, families to businesses, low-income earners to high earners and everyone in between. If we really want to deliver the promise of a ‘New New York,’ we cannot continue this taxation without realistic, reasonable and responsive representation.”

Dave Olsen

Until the tax system is changed and control is placed in local hands, instead of this top-down approach, this is how it's going to continue to be. 120 million cut from the developmentally disabled because the state screwed up and overcharged the federal gov.(where did that money go, BTW?), but 420million dollar tax credit for NBC to move The Tonight Show to NYC, the unconstitutional SAFE act, and who really knows how much is spent on IDA s and their corporate welfare.

Mar 29, 2013, 6:37am Permalink
John Roach

Don't forget the minimum wage subsidy for teens 16-19 year old. The employer does not pay the new wage hike for them, the tax payers do And of course, why would an employer hire anyone over 19 next year if they can? Under 19, the taxpayer pays the increase, over 19 the employer pays.

Where is that money going from the insurance fund? And there is the $320 bribe for families with children, to be paid only next year just before the election.

Mar 29, 2013, 7:02am Permalink
John Roach

Dave, how do you get them to vote Libertarian or Conservative if the Democrats in the Assembly and Republicans in the Senate will give you $320 to vote for them?

Mar 29, 2013, 7:23am Permalink
Fred GUNDELL

How quickly we forget. This is the same disfunctional Government that stopped the Starr Rebate Propery Tax Rebate for Seniors, that we could not afford?? Instead they give folks making 300,000 a rebate of 360.00. Of course Seniors have nobody 18 or under, so they are thrown under the bus again. I think we should be the ones voting for Tax increases(Fees as well), not this mess we have in Albany.

Mar 29, 2013, 8:41am Permalink
tom hunt

When does having an dependent child living with you make a difference in your cost of owning and maintaining a home? As the above commenter pointed out, most Seniors do not have a child living with them. Misplaced thinking from Albany.

Mar 29, 2013, 9:31am Permalink
John Roach

TP,
This is not misplaced thinking. This is buying your vote. If it was not, then they would give that $320 this year, not next at election time. At least now you know what they think your vote is worth.

Mar 29, 2013, 10:57am Permalink
Brian Graz

Have you seen this... ?
_________________________

Budget Process Betrays Citizens Once Again!

Republican Senate Leadership Collaborates with Gun Grabbing Democrats and Tyrannical Governor to Fund a $27 Million Statewide Police Database.

This registration scheme was mandated by the unconstitutional NY SAFE Act and now it is funded by the 2013 budget bill. This will create a data base to register and track New York’s legal gun owners. Citizens in New York who chose to exercise their legitimate United States Constitutionally guaranteed right to Keep and Bear arms will now be treated no better than degenerate sex offenders!

You will have to register your legally purchased firearms.
You must re-certify your permit every 5 years.
You will have to apply for permission to purchase ammunition for your rightfully owned firearms.
You will be kept in a State database listing your name, address, guns owned, and ammo purchased.
While you can “opt out” of having your License to Carry Pistol information made public, there is no opt out of the new State Police data base.

The budget deal just passed also made some “technical corrections” as follows:

Police officers, peace officers (but apparently not security guards) and active duty military members are exempted from:

-- criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds;
-- criminal possession of a firearm;
-- unlawful possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device;
-- unlawful possession of large capacity magazines that were legal prior to the passage of the Cuomo gun laws and which are now illegal; and
-- prosecution for possessing an assault weapon.

In other words, the police will no longer be forced to abide by the laws they will attempt force you to obey.

Oh yeah, and by the way, they want you to know they also threw you a bone in the budget. Now you can still buy those evil ten round magazines, but you can still be imprisoned for loading more then seven rounds in them.

The problem is that Republican Benedict Arnolds; Dean Skelos from Long Island and Mark Grisanti from Buffalo, and the other Long Island Republicans, teamed up with the Democrats from all over (including Ted O’Brien from Rochester/Monroe County and David Valesky from the Syracuse area, both turncoats and liars who promised during their campaigns to defend the Second Amendment) to support Cuomo’s gun grab.

If we are going to fight back against this law, we must call our Senators today and DEMAND they stop making excuses. The line they are now using is that “its all done, there is nothing we can do…” but that is not acceptable in a free Republic. Tell them Dean Skelos has no legitimate place in the senate leadership and must go!

For those Republican Senators (Cathy Young, Mike Nozzolio, George Maziarz, Pat Gallivan, etc) – tell them you want a pledge from them to either get major reforms to the SAFE Act or never again vote for Dean Skelos as their Leader in the Senate. If they won’t make that pledge, its time to find a new Senator.

- SCOPENY

Mar 30, 2013, 12:55pm Permalink

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