News

Public Outrage Mounts Against New DMV Fee Hikes Supported By Assemblyman Reilly

Reilly voted to increase consumer fees at the DMV for
driver’s licenses, vehicle registrations and license plate renewals

While state officials spent the week unveiling new license plates, public outrage continued as New Yorkers learned more about the new DMV fee hikes passed into law by Assemblyman Bob Reilly (D-Latham).

Taxpayers now must pay 25 percent more to obtain a driver’s license — an increase for Class D driver’s licenses from $50 to $64.50. Registration fees for an automobile weighing 3500 lbs climbed from $45 to $56.
(more…)

Buffalo News Editorial: A Call to Action: Contact Your Elected Officials to do Something About Your High Taxes

The Buffalo News

First, stop the bleeding.

New York State, especially upstate New York, is losing its lifeblood of jobs and, as the jobs drain away, its population. There are other consequences as well: Two more congressional seats are likely to be lost after the 2010 Census.
The most frustrating of the reasons for the decline is this: New York is killing itself through state government policy choices, dictated by elected officials, that pander to special interests and political powerhouses.

New York’s governor at least warns of the danger. The State Legislature ignores it, and is largely responsible for it.

The most dismaying aspect of that is that the members of the Senate and Assembly, particularly their leaders, refuse fully to acknowledge the problem, refuse to recognize that their failure to act responsibly deepened the problem and are singularly focused on what they always have done — taking care of themselves, the public sector unions and other vested interests that help them with cash to get re-elected.
The Legislature’s strategy has been to wait and see if the problem goes away. It won’t. Even if the recession is ending, experts foresee a “jobless recovery” and a retrenchment that will not return either New York or America to the unregulated euphoric expansion that was mistaken for sustainable prosperity.

Other states, most notably California, face the same fiscal problems and have reacted with necessary cuts. In the meantime, New York’s policies have been based far more on politics than on principles of good governance. The focus of lawmakers has centered on the preservation of political power rather than on doing what’s right for everyday New Yorkers. The advent of single-party control of both houses allowed that badly-rooted practice to bear rotten fruit.

On the extra editorial pages that follow these, we have outlined the problem. And we call on you to make your voice heard, by contacting the legislators who supposedly work for you but continue to raise your taxes. Tell them to do what’s right.

That starts with cutting spending, just like regular people do when facing money problems. It should not…must not…involve another round of new taxes and fees, because New Yorkers already lead the nation in state and local tax burden and the new taxes already imposed on high incomes are driving individuals, businesses and jobs from the state. And it should not involve more borrowing, because New Yorkers also already shoulder the heaviest state debt burden in the nation.
What’s called for is rolling back taxes and fees, rather than increasing them, to make New York more attractive to employers who have to decide whether to stay or move out of state.

During the past three years New York has added the equivalent of 12,990 new full-time positions in the state work force. Some 8,000 workers were hired after Gov. David A. Paterson called for a hiring freeze last fall. Lawmakers should roll back the state government work force to the levels of just a few years ago, saving billions of dollars. They could enact pension reforms that might have relatively small impacts now but provide major long-term relief for the state, for municipalities and for school districts � and the taxpayers who fund them.

They could enact structural reforms that would increase transparency in the way the state does business, fold off-budget state authorities back into the budget process to clarify what state costs really are, make state agencies and office-holders more accountable to the public and less open to special-interest influence.

They could consider benefit changes in the costly Medicaid programs � New York is the national leader in Medicaid spending � that would protect basic services for the poor but bring New York more in line with the national average in terms of the costly extra services covered here.

They could consider a property tax cap so that governments don’t repeatedly penalize those with the greatest ownership stakes in this region.

Everything costs more in New York, from health insurance to education to the cost of doing business. The only people who can fix that are the elected officials in Albany. If they won’t, or can’t, they should step aside and allow those who can to take charge. If the current Legislature doesn’t fix it, voters… who already have expressed their lack of confidence in them… should exercise their rights to set things back in order with an entirely new Legislature.

Your lawmakers will do nothing unless they’re told to.

http://www.buffalonews.com/opinion/editorials/story/854856.html

New Water Bottle Tax to Nickel and Dime Consumers, Small Businesses

Assemblywoman Russell voted for so-called “Bigger Better Bottle Bill”
which could kill jobs, raise consumer prices on water bottles

Starting this Sunday, November 8th, New York consumers will have to pay more for bottled water thanks to a new state law.

The so-called “Bigger Better Bottle Bill” was passed into law by Assemblywoman Addie Russell (D-118th A. D.) in state budget bill A.159-B and adds a 5-cent returnable deposit to water bottles and flavored water that contains no sugar – an additional $1.20 for a 24-pack of bottled water.

In addition to New Yorkers paying an additional 5-cent deposit, customers can expect to pay higher retail prices per bottle due to a hike, from 2 cents to 3.5 cents, in the state’s bottle handling fee. For bottle retailers the situation gets worse as the law allows the state to seize 80 percent of their Refund Value Account each quarter. The Refund Value Account was designed to hold money from bottle deposits to be used for offsetting expenses of bottle redemption.

Small businesses already struggling to stay afloat will be hit with yet another unfunded state mandate as they will need to allocate staff resources or hire outside help to handle the processing of the expanded bottle bill. Funds collected by the state from this bill will go into the state’s General Fund — not the state’s Environmental Protection Fund.

Russell passed the water bottle tax in addition to $4.4 billion in other taxes (A.157-B) to pay for her spending addiction in the state budget that benefits New York City over Northern New York.

“This new water bottle tax is yet another example of how Assemblywoman Russell can’t quench the state’s thirst for collecting higher taxes and fees on working families and small businesses. Assemblywoman Russell’s tax and fee hikes add up to more than nickels and dimes: they lead to lost jobs and lighter wallets,” said Kathleen Hennessey, Spokeswoman for the New York Republican Assembly Campaign Committee (RACC).

Mid-Hudson News: Farms in Dutchess feel economic pinch

RED HOOK – Farmers in Dutchess County are feeling the effects of the continued weak economy like all other businesses and many told their tales of woe to the Assembly Minority Agriculture, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation Task Force on Friday.

The committee held a hearing at the Migliorelli Farm in Red Hook and heard their concerns that ran the gamut.

Assemblyman Marc Molinaro of Red Hook was among those on the panel. “Because we are in Dutchess County, the MTA payroll tax was a top priority and a concern,” he said after the meeting. Other concerns included “the multiple layers of regulation that make it difficult for farms to continue to success and quite generally, the high cost of doing business that despite the fact that farming is a very unique industry, the State of New York overburdens it as it does every other industry.”

Task force Chairman Assemblyman Clifford Crouch of Guilford said the state must “focus on the support and resources needed” to ensure the continued success of the farming industry.

http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2009/October09/24/DC_farms-24Oct09.html

Gouverneur Times: Be Afraid…

Dear Editor:

This Halloween and beyond, be afraid North Country residents…be very afraid of all the terrifying tax hikes on middle class families passed into law by Assemblywoman Addie Russell(D-Theresa).

The nightmare for North Country homeowners starts with a vote by Russell to eliminate the popular STAR property tax rebate checks that helped seniors and families afford to pay their property tax bills (A.153-C).

This year, Assemblywoman Russell also voted for a haunting series of tax and user fee hikes on everything from going to a state park to renting a car to enrolling in a SUNY/CUNY school. Even holiday spirits will cost more this Halloween because Russell voted to increase taxes on beer and wine sales (A.157-B and A.156-B).

Assemblywoman Russell also voted for a frightening series of tax and fee increases on health insurance, auto insurance and home purchases (A.158-B and A.156-B) not too mention her vote to hike DMV fees by 25 percent on driver’s licenses, vehicle registrations and license plate renewals (A.159-B). Russell also voted in favor of a potential real-life horror story: “get out of jail free cards” for up to 1,500 drug criminals (A.156-B). As if that wasn’t enough, Assemblywoman Russell voted to hike 41 separate license and fee hikes for sportsmen (A.159-B).

Given these votes by Russell to raise taxes and put public safety at risk, residents have a reason to be scared.

Sincerely,

Kathleen Hennessey

Spokeswoman

New York Republican Assembly Campaign Committee (NYRACC)

Wall Street Journal: Why One Democrat Thinks New York Needs a Strong GOP

The Wall Street Journal

By DAVID PARKER
Last month, about 240,000 registered Democrats in New York City—myself included—voted in a runoff election for public advocate and comptroller, two of New York’s three directly elected citywide offices. Facing only nominal Republican opposition in November, the winners of the runoff—John Liu in the comptroller race, and Bill de Blasio in the public advocate race—are essentially guaranteed victory in the general election. In other words, two of the top three municipal offices in the nation’s largest city were chosen by 6% of the city’s electorate. That isn’t democracy. It’s oligarchy. And it’s not working.

It wasn’t so long ago that we Democrats were celebrating our dominance. Last November, I joined hundreds of my fellow Democrats at an election night event hosted by the New York state Democratic Party. We celebrated the election of a Democratic president, a Democratic landslide in Congress, and with equal excitement the news that the New York state Senate, that last bastion of Republican control in our home state, had fallen into Democratic hands. For the first time since 1935, Democrats would control the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature. 2009 was going to be a great year.

Yet it hasn’t been—not for the Democratic Party and not for New York.

In June, the state Senate was thrown into disorder when two Democratic members—Pedro Espada Jr. and Hiram Monserrate—staged a parliamentary coup and attempted to reinstall the Republican leadership. Last month, New York’s Democratic Gov. David Paterson lost the public support of our party’s national-standard bearer, the president of the United States. Meanwhile, New Yorkers continue to pay among the highest taxes in the nation, footing the bill for the backdoor borrowing of the state’s hundreds of barely regulated authorities, a bloated public workforce rife with redundancies, and of course, the salaries of indicted state legislators (including Sen. Monserrate, recently convicted of misdemeanor assault—and still collecting a paycheck).

New York has seen tough times before. This time, however, we Democrats have nobody to blame but ourselves. Single-party rule has been a disaster for New York. New York needs competition. New York needs Republicans.

To begin with, democracy demands meaningful competition—and Democratic primaries alone rarely provide it. In what consultants call “low-turnout, low-information” campaigns, a tiny percentage of the electorate makes decisions that are often heavily influenced by the opinions of an even smaller elite: the editorial boards, political committees of labor unions, and elected officials whose endorsements often carry the day for candidates. Since candidates in primaries rarely have substantive differences of opinion, the electorate is robbed of a back-and-forth discussion on the issues.

In New York City, we are so often told that victories in Democratic primaries are tantamount to election that we have forgotten what a perversion of functional democracy such a statement represents. There are about 1.2 million registered Republicans and unaffiliated “blanks” (independent voters) in New York City—28% of the total electorate—who are effectively disenfranchised every time the winner of a Democratic primary faces no real opposition in a general election.

Ironically, Democratic primaries—in which party bosses often play an outsize role—have also had the effect of disenfranchising Democratic voters. Currently, the Democratic leadership has discouraged any primary challenges to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who was appointed to finish Hillary Clinton’s term. If the Democratic Party has its way, Democratic voters will have about as much say in electing Sen. Gillibrand as we had in selecting her. That is to say, absolutely none.

Democrats have also used their muscle to fight structural reforms. When Mike Bloomberg (full disclosure: the mayor is a former client) pushed to replace primaries with nonpartisan elections in a 2003 referendum, the Democratic Party pulled out all the stops to defeat the measure.

Lack of competition has lulled Democrats into a complacency that borders on corruption. In recent years, two of the signature achievements of the New York City Council have been orchestrating a massive fraud against taxpayers by allocating money to phony nonprofits and parking the money in a slush fund for later use, and voting to extend the term limits of its own members. Some of these members rarely show up for work, while others take public funds for essentially uncontested general elections. Both actions could be considered stealing from taxpayers. Is it a coincidence that the Council is composed of three Republicans and 48 Democrats? Without effective checks on the power of the majority, the Council acts in its own best interests—not those of the people.

To be sure, Republicans played a major role in helping construct the current broken edifice of state government. And the Republican Party must address its own identity issues: Many New York Republicans share little in common with each other, much less with the more conservative forces that dominate the national party.

More important, Republicans need to field competitive candidates in more races. Outside of safe districts, Republicans rarely contest legislative contests at the local, state or federal level. This may be a practical decision based on limited resources, but it’s not the path to viability. After all, many voters are willing to cross party lines: Despite its overwhelmingly Democratic electorate, New York City hasn’t elected a Democratic mayor in 20 years. And before the election of Eliot Spitzer in 2006, New York state—also with far more Democrats than Republicans—elected Republican Gov. George Pataki three times in a row.

Most of all, lust for power has diminished the integrity of both parties. In a just world, cynical opportunists like the state senators who led the summer’s coup should find themselves without political homes, not the subject of a bidding war. (Democrats gave Sen. Monserrate, then under indictment, a committee chairmanship and attendant stipend. The chaos in the Senate ended when final holdout Sen. Espada returned to the Democratic fold—as Democratic majority leader).

Democracy does not work without real competition, and contested elections between candidates with material differences provide voters with meaningful choices. New York doesn’t need less partisanship. It needs more.

Mr. Parker is a political consultant and writer in New York.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703298004574459554239536952.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

SKARTADOS VOTES FOR BILLIONS IN TAX HIKES BEFORE HE SAYS HE’D VOTE AGAINST THEM

In new statement, Assemblyman Skartados says taxes are “already too high” but fails to mention he’s responsible for highest tax hike in New York’s history

This week, Mid-Hudson Valley Assemblyman Frank Skartados (D-100th A. D.) was caught doing a tax two-step with voters by saying taxes are “already too high” without disclosing that his votes in Albany to hike taxes and fees by billions of dollars are to blame.

In an October 16th statement, Skartados said:

“We can not afford to balance the budget by increasing taxes and fees because they are already too high.”

“Hudson Valley residents, in particular, can’t afford to pay more taxes and fees than we’re paying now.”

However, Skartados failed to mention he already voted this year for the following tax hikes:

• (A.157-B) which included $5.7 billion in tax hikes, the largest in New York State history. This bill raised several taxes including on rental cars, beer, and wine sales and led to a SUNY tuition hike of $620 per student.
• (A.153-C) that eliminated STAR property tax rebate checks costing homeowners $386 and seniors $458 more this year to pay off their property tax bills.
• (A.159-B) includes 41 separate license and fee hikes for sportsmen including increases for fishing, hunting, and outdoor recreation for a total of $62.9 million. This same bill also hiked taxes on utility bills by $561 million.
• (A.157-B and A. 158-B) allows for $649.9 million in health care tax hikes that makes it harder for working people to afford the medical treatment they need and deserve.

“Assemblyman Skartados repeatedly voted to hike taxes on working people and now he’s complaining that taxes are ‘too high’. That’s called the tax two-step: hike taxes and fees in Albany when no one is looking and then tell the folks back home that we’re getting over-taxed without taking responsibility for causing that pain,” said Kathleen Hennessey, Spokeswoman for the New York Republican Assembly Campaign Committee (RACC).

Queens Gazette: New Drug Law Stirs 2010 Election Battles

By John Toscano

Queens Republicans and their Assembly colleagues signaled last week that they will make a major issue of the repealed Rockefeller drug laws in next year’s legislative elections.

Vincent Tabone, vice chairman of the Queens GOP county committee and Republican Assembly campaign committee issued blistering attacks on Governor David Paterson and state Democrats last week when Paterson hailed the start of the judicial diversion program, a key phase of the reformed drug law, at ceremonies in a Brooklyn courthouse.

Tabone, who doubles as 26th AD district leader in Bayside, also used his attack on Paterson to point out that his local Assembly representative, Ann Margaret Carrozza, a Democrat, had voted for the drug law reform which, he said, will clear the way for 1,500 drug felons now in jail to have their sentences reduced and some be let out of jail.

Tabone and other Queens GOP officials had already targeted Carrozza for a strong re-election challenge earlier this year when they charged she no longer lives in the district.

Last April, when Democrats in control of both houses before the state senate stalemate, the drug law reform bill was passed and signed by Paterson.

Paterson, reviewing the new law last week, said it restores judicial discretion by eliminating mandatory minimum sentences and gives superior criminal courts the option of allowing eligible defendants with a diagnosis of drug or alcohol dependence to participate in a comprehensive treatment program. In addition, he said, “The new law relieves new offenders from some of the old mandatory sentencing provisions and provides opportunities for resentencing to some offenders who remain incarcerated under the old laws.”

Tabone retorted that Republicans like Senator Frank Padavan and prosecutors and police officers opposed the changes, to no avail.

As he and the Assembly GOP see it, more than 1,500 drug felons may be “hitting the streets soon”. Among those are criminals who “sold drugs to children or sold drugs on school grounds or operated meth labs”.

Tabone said the estimated cost of the new program was at least $50 million.

Paterson, citing no dollar figure, said, “The state has directed funds to support the implementation of the drug law reforms and related initiatives,” and will help to create or retain more than 400 new jobs or jobs that would have otherwise been eliminated.

There has also been strong media criticism of the new reform law. A recent editorial in the Daily News pointed out that among those that might be let out of jail or given soft treatment upon arrest are street corner drug dealers who are involved in community crime and addiction problems.

One local Democratic lawmaker who opposes the drug reform plan is City Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. (D–Astoria). The council Public Safety Committee chair said in a statement commenting on Paterson’s announcement, “Today, the Albany-approved jailbreak begins. The understaffed Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor now has to spend its limited resources on trying to prevent drug dealers from being released, while it will become harder for the NYPD to keep streets safe as ‘turnstile justice’ to a court near you.”

http://www.qgazette.com/news/2009-10-14/political_page

Utica Daily News: Fishing For Dollars — New State Fees Target Sportsmen

Republicans attack Destito on vote
Marques Phillips/Utica Daily News
MOHAWK VALLEY, Oct. 3., 2009 — It’s hunting season, and in Albany it’s always campaign season.

This years budget includes dozens of fee increases for fishermen and hunters that took hold on Oct. 1.

In response to these fees the New York Republican Assembly Campaign Committee took aim at Assemblywoman RoAnn Destito, who voted for the budget.

“Assemblywoman Destito’s vote to hike 41 separate fees and licenses for hunting and fishing takes direct aim at sportsmen and the Mohawk Valley’s economy which depends on outdoor enthusiasts,” said Kathleen Hennessey, spokeswoman for the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee.

New York State Rifle and Pistol Association Central Region Director John Booth, of Ilion, said that the fees hit hard at the wallets of sportsmen, especially during a recession.

“We’ve talked about this issue frequently,” he said. “It has a dramatic impact on guys who are retired, retired medically, or otherwise living on a fixed income. They’ve said they can’t afford to buy another license, and they’ll hunt anyway because that’s the only way to bring food to table. Especially in places like Remsen and Ohio. They obviously don’t want to break the law, but it’s a choice between starve and have extra meat.”

Destito called the accusation initiated by the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee “attacks” and she said it’s usual. However, she pointed out that the fees haven’t been raised since 2002, and that New York is facing unprecedented budget deficits since Wall Street played a critical role in the economic collapse.

“In this year’s state budget, a number of extraordinary and staggering obstacles were presented, including a $17 billion deficit, a severe recession and Wall Street’s plummeting revenues,” she said. “We took measures to face these challenges, rejecting over $2 billion in proposed increased taxes and fees, from increases in taxes on clothing and gasoline, to new fees on cable television, movie tickets, haircuts and even bowling.”

Destito said the fees would be used to pay for many of the same services hunters and fishermen use, such as policing and conservation efforts.

“This announcement fails to mention that these fee increases were requested by the New York State Conservation Council and were supported by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation,” Destito said.

Booth said budget shortfalls facing the DEC were serious, and buying new bulletproof vests for officers whose vests were antiquated was in serious jeopardy earlier this year. However, he said charging extra money to sportsmen isn’t the answer, rather than taking a hard look at the states overall budget and finances.

“The DEC is struggling for funds,” he said. “But it’s another case of New York City being bailed out by Upstate because the state has been mismanaging money for years. When you consider a DEC officer is paid less than police officers, yet they’re the only officers in the country who are always approaching people that are always armed. Yeah, they need to be paid, so they increase the fees and taxing hunters and fishermen is an easy way to do it, because you have to have it. It’s illegal to hunt without a license. It’s illegal to fish without a license.”

For her part, Destito points to the fact that there’s still a budget gap, and she said, in Albany lawmakers have made it a point not to raise any more fees.

“Governor David Paterson stated last week that the state is facing an additional $2.1 billion deficit and the Governor says that he doesn’t support imposing more taxes and fees to close the budget gap,” she said. “I agree 100 percent. We can and must find ways to cut state spending without cutting vital services families rely on.”

http://uticadailynews.com/utica_daily_focus/7779-Republicans-attack-Destito-vote.html

NewsChannel 34: New law could issue “get out of jail free cards” to 1,500 drug felons

http://www.newschannel34.com/content/developingnews/story/New-law-could-issue-get-out-of-jail-free-cards-to/w-2OF5XRaUSXXSLVJ3rOLQ.cspx

NEW LAW COULD ISSUE “GET OUT OF JAIL FREE CARDS”
TO 1,500 DRUG FELONS
Assemblywoman Lupardo voted in favor of allowing drug dealers who sold to children
to apply for re-sentencing and possibly freed from state prison starting in October

Starting this month, about 1,500 convicted drug criminals including drug dealers who sold to children could apply for re-sentencing and possibly sprung from state prisons thanks to a little publicized provision in the newly enacted Rockefeller Drug Law reforms.

Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo (D-126th A. D.) voted in favor of this measure as part of state budget bill A.156-B, which allows almost all convicted class B felony controlled substance offenders, including drug dealers, to apply for re-sentencing before a court.

Among those who could potentially see their sentences reduced or even be freed are criminals who sold drugs to children or sold drugs on school grounds. Other drug dealers that may be released committed crimes such as operating meth labs. According to the Drug Policy Alliance, up to 1,500 inmates will be eligible for re-sentencing.

“Assemblywoman Lupardo voted in favor of allowing drug dealers who prey on children to potentially receive ‘get out of jail free’ cards and end up back on the street. These drug dealers did the crime — they should do the time,” said Kathleen Hennessey, Spokeswoman for the New York Republican Assembly Campaign Committee (RACC).