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The event, sponsored by the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association and the state Assembly Minority Conference, is designed to bring together gun owners and Second Amendment supporters from around the state to meet with their state representatives. It will feature exhibits and presentations by advocates and experts.

The scheduled keynote speaker is Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president and chief executive officer of the National Rifle Association.

In the past, the Onondaga and Oswego county federations of sportsmen’s clubs have teamed to organize charter buses for those who want to attend. I’ll keep readers posted when I find out more.

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Check it out here on Capitol Tonight

or here from NY1 Online

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It’s a theme that Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb hopes to hear in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s second State of the State address on Wednesday and the governor has already hinted that he’ll focus on the expansion of casino gambling and infrastructure improvements, two items that could be linked to long-term job growth and economic stability.

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LEADER BRIAN KOLB, ASSEMBLY MINORITY CONFERENCE FIGHT TO PROTECT TAXPAYERS FROM SOARING MEDICAID COSTS ANDGOVERNMENT SPENDING
Leader Kolb and Minority Conference offer amendments to cap state spending and freeze local share of Medicaid costs

In an effort to protect taxpayers from the explosive growth of state government spending and decrease the crushing burden of New York’s Medicaid program on local governments, Assembly Minority Leader Brian M. Kolb (R,I,C-Canandaigua) and the Minority Conference proposed two amendments to the Albany tax deal.  The tax deal passed at 1:00 a.m. this morning.

The two amendments – Assembly Bill A.5370 and Assembly Bill A.8453 – were offered by the Assembly Minority Conference to the principal legislation enacting the Albanytax deal.  The state spending cap amendment (A.5370) would have capped year-to-year increases in state spending to the average rate of inflation of the three previous calendar years.  The Medicaid spending cap amendment (A.8453) would have frozen the municipal share of local Medicaid costs at the current level, an important step toward reducing Medicaid costs and delivering unfunded mandate relief for localities.  Both amendments were defeated by the Assembly Democratic Majority by votes of 88 to 51 (state spending cap) and 74 to 63 (Medicaid cap).

“New York may be ‘open for business,’ but Albany was ‘business as usual’ late last night.  The Albany tax deal enacted in the dead of night yesterday – with zero public hearings, zero public input and zero transparency – failed to address two of the biggest threats to New York’s fiscal stability: our state’s addiction to spending and its skyrocketing Medicaid costs. The inability, or unwillingness, to tackle these two huge fiscal challenges was a colossal missed opportunity and will end up costing taxpayers more later on down the line,” said Leader Kolb, who has spoken out against the Albany tax deal and the process used to enact it.

“Government spending and Medicaid were left untouched by Albany’s tax deal despite the fact that from 2000 to 2010, state spending increased by an unsustainable rate of nearly 70 percent.  Also unaffected was the state’s Medicaid program – the costliest in our nation. New York spends more on Medicaid than Texas and Florida combined, even though these two states have almost 44 million residents to our 19 million.  It is clear that reducing Medicaid costs and reining in state spending should have been on the agenda during yesterday’s Special Session.  Instead, they were swept under the rug,” Leader Kolb concluded.

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By JIM MILLER Finger Lakes Times

This spring, the state Legislature passed an un-Albany-like whirlwind of legislation. Now, having taken some time to catch their breaths, legislators are just a month away from reconvening.

The big question? How will they — and Gov. Andrew Cuomo — follow up?

As they return to the statehouse, legislators will face renewed calls for mandate relief, especially when the tax cap they enacted last year begins to affect schools. They will also face the usual Albany cash crunch, which could make it difficult to deliver such relief, or much else.

Against that backdrop, Gov. Andrew Cuomo will have to show how much staying power his influence has, which could create conflict if the Legislature tries to flex its own muscles.

This year, Cuomo got his three priority bills (same-sex marriage, rent reform and the tax cap) through the Legislature, a success rate seldom seen in Albany. He also got an on-time budget.

Next year, he’ll have to sustain that momentum or risk looking like a sprinter running in a marathon — a speed demon who fades as the miles pile up.

Keeping up his speed could prove challenging. No matter how many bills he manages to get passed or how many agenda items he manages to tick off his list, it will be hard to meet the bar he set for himself this spring.

At the same time, Cuomo and the Legislature will have to deal with the repercussions of what they have already done. That will likely take up more and more of their time in early 2012, when school districts begin developing their first tax-capped budgets.

Unlike municipalities, schools cannot exceed the cap without voter approval. With their mandated costs rising and their budgets already tight, that will be a problem for many districts, and it’s a fair bet that legislators will be hearing from them.

If the schools have to cut their budgets deeply enough, those legislators may also be hearing from irate voters.

The Republicans, meanwhile, will bring their own agenda back to Albany. Minority Leader Brian Kolb, R-129 of Canandaigua, outlined part of it last week.

Among other things, he called for a cap on state spending tied to the Consumer Price Index. He argued for a ban on new unfunded state mandates and for suspending existing mandates not related to health and safety. He suggested a simpler, fairer and flatter tax code.

The fact that most of this isn’t new shows how successful the Republicans have been in getting their agenda through in recent years.

Given the fact that they control only the Senate, this isn’t surprising.

But it won’t stop the party from pushing again. And if Cuomo looks lackluster or his big bills backfire, voters might just get behind the Republicans’ plans.

How will it all shake out?

This is Albany: The surest way to look dumb is to say you know what’s going to happen. But it’s a fair bet it’ll be interesting, and it sure looks like Cuomo has as much influence, if not more, than he did last year.

Another productive year could signal a new normal and the departure, for now, of Albany’s traditional gridlock. It could also signal that Cuomo’s power is here to stay.

But a return to old patterns — a late budget, say — would cast this spring as more of an aberration and Cuomo as a governor who may have done his best running during the first 100 yards of a very long race.

Miller’s “Eye on Government” appears weekly in the Sunday Finger Lakes Times. Contact him at jmiller@fltimes.com or 789-3333 ext. 258.

His victory is also significant for his Republican colleagues in the Assembly. The abbreviated campaign for the seat vacated by James P. Hayes maintains a 51-seat presence by the GOP, preventing a Democratic super-majority in the 150-member Assembly. The biggest benefit to Republicans is that Democrats cannot override a veto by the governor without a two-thirds vote in the Assembly.

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