Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay

There have been quite a few newsworthy items coming out of Albany in recent weeks. I want to share a few of them with you in this column pertaining to health services funding, insurance fraud, and tourism.

The Assembly passed an early voting bill last week. I voted against this measure. At a time when localities are stretched to the max, this would create another unfunded mandate and change our current system when it doesn’t need to be changed.

Small business owners throughout New York State recently made their way to Albany. Chief among their concerns again this year pertained to overreaching regulations and paperwork mandates, which add to the overall cost of doing business.

It was recently reported that two Albany lawmakers from Downstate were involved in corruption and bribery.  One lawmaker, Assemblyman Eric Stevenson, is accused of accepting more than $22,000 in bribes from four adult daycare centers, with the understanding that he would put forth legislation that would benefit the centers.

We hear about cases on the news and we see mug shots of those who are charged or convicted of some heinous child sex abuse act. There is no excuse for these perpetrators and sickens the majority of us who have to read these stories. The good thing about these news stories is that when we see them reported, we know our law enforcement is catching more of these types of perpetrators.

Last week, I talked about the State Budget in this column and this week, I wanted to expand on some elements in the budget. We passed a $141.2 billion spending plan before the April 1 deadline but it wasn’t without its problems. One of the biggest problems for me was the “sweeps” that took place. While “sweeping” is nothing new to New York, this year the budget used a bigger broom and swept more money from various funds into the general fund.

The 2013-14 New York State budget passed with total spending at $141.2 billion. Overall, we missed our opportunity to create a better state and left things status quo. We missed the chance to make our state friendlier to all businesses and provide real relief for taxpayers. Instead, we extended energy taxes for all residents, while providing tax credits to the film industry.

Our state government can make a big difference just by doing little things for active duty military and veterans. We should use our resources to further their careers and express our appreciation for their years of service and sacrifice.

I recently joined several local highway officials in Albany to advocate for an increase in state aid for local roads and bridges. With budget negotiations under way, we cannot short change our localities and provide them with funding that is inadequate to keep roads and bridges passable.