Politics

As fall weather settles upon the area and the colors change, for many that means one thing: the opening of hunting season is here. Upstate New York has some of the best hunting, trapping and fishing in the country with thousands of lakes, ponds, rivers, streams and millions of acres of forest and open space rich with wildlife.

Individuals with disabilities and their family members will soon have a new way to save and plan for future expenses with the creation of the 529 Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) program. The ABLE program is similar to the successful 529 College Savings Account program. ABLE accounts are a tax-advantaged savings account that individuals with disabilities can use to pay for qualified expenses.

A number of years ago, when asked about an ethics overhaul of the State executive branch, Governor Cuomo responded that such an overhaul wasn’t necessary because the ethical problems were in the state legislature. At the time, one could say that was true.

Last week, the NYS Comptroller released a report that indicates that over the last decade, student loan debt for New Yorkers has grown by more than $10,000 for the average borrower. According to the Brookings Institution, Americans now owe a record $1.3 trillion in student loans and student loans are second only to mortgages as the largest source of household debt. It is not a mystery why student debt is exploding.

One of the biggest legislative challenges in Albany is to make sure that there is parity in state spending between Upstate and Downstate New York. This is particularly challenging when it comes to transportation spending. Downstate New York relies on mass transit for its transportation needs, while in Upstate, we are much more reliant on our cars for our transportation needs. Accordingly, the needs of each region tend to be very different.