New York State Assembly

After months of discussion and debate, Albany legislators have passed the 2013-14 New York State Budget on time for the third consecutive year. This is exactly how the process should work and what the public expects of us. Delivering a timely budget helps restore the public's confidence in their government. It is important to be on time, but it is far more important to be on-target.

The budget-making process is arduous, difficult choices are made, and the reality is that lawmakers cannot provide everything to everyone. As I am sure my colleagues would acknowledge, there is still a great deal of work to be done to put New York State on a path of prosperity and sustained success. In this column, I want to provide you with an initial snapshot of what the budget will mean for working families and businesses in the Finger Lakes region as well as share a few of the top issues I will be working on during the rest of the Legislative Session in Albany.

THE 2013-14 STATE BUDGET: ON-TIME, BUT OFF THE MARK

I am encouraged to see that several of my long-time priorities are addressed in this year's budget. The proposals in the 2013-14 State Budget contain a number of items that will help New Yorkers: schools will receive $1 billion in new aid; local infrastructure projects receive an additional $75 million in CHIPs funding; library aid increases by $4 million; the Middle Class Income Tax Cut is extended; EPIC funding is enhanced; $21.1 million in new money is directed to agriculture assistance programs; and more than $20 billion in federal aid will help to continue the recovery from Superstorm Sandy and recent natural disasters.

While there are some good points, the state budget is also full of missed opportunities. At the top of that list is the egregious Temporary 18-A 'Energy Tax.' This tax was supposed to end in 2014 - extending it for four more years is hardly a 'phase out.' I have called for the repeal of the 'Energy Tax' since it was adopted in the 2009 State Budget, and recently joined with business leaders from across the state to call for an end to this job-killing tax. Albany did not heed our call and working families and businesses will be forced to foot the bill for the 'Energy Tax' for years to come.

I am also concerned about the deep cuts in funding for programs that assist New Yorkers with developmental disabilities. These cuts will impact those least able to help themselves. Albany must do more to give disabled New Yorkers the tools and support they need to live with dignity and share their special gifts with our communities.

Turning from the budget and looking forward to the days ahead, I am committed to placing job creation, unfunded mandate relief, cutting costs for families and government reform at the top of the Assembly's agenda for the remainder of the 2013 Legislative Session. I am optimistic that we will be able to accomplish these goals. The Assembly Minority Conference has a strong track record - many of the top public policy initiatives accomplished in the last two years of our legislative session got their start in our conference.

MY TOP PRIORITY: WORK TO CREATE JOBS, JOBS, JOBS

As a former job creator, I firmly believe that renewing and reinvigorating New York businesses is the most effective way to turn around local economies in upstate New York. My priorities for the rest of the Legislative Session include fostering high-tech manufacturing and creating an 'Innovation Economy' that empowers New Yorkers to start a business, grow a business, and develop the real-world skill set they need to succeed in their chosen career. Albany must also help 'Second Stage' companies that employ 5 to 99 workers, enact the 'Grow-NY' economic gardening pilot program and encourage tourism and agribusiness, two industries that will spark a major resurgence in the Finger Lakes economy.

MANDATE RELIEF: LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

Drip, drip, drip. We have all had a leaky faucet in our home at one time or another. It's just a little annoyance, or is it? What if a faucet in every home, on your block, in your town, in the entire state also dripped? The drips would add up to a flood of water. From 2001 to 2012, the Assembly voted 120 times to pass unfunded mandate legislation with a fiscal impact totaling almost $85 billion. Every time Albany proposes a new program and orders local governments or school districts to pay, that 'unfunded mandate' is like one more dripping faucet - and every drop brings another tax increase.

Albany must do more to protect taxpayers and localities by stopping the dripping faucet of unfunded mandates. Our county leaders can only use ten cents out of every tax dollar to support local programs - everything else goes directly toward state-mandated programs. The 'Taxpayer Protection and Mandate Relief Act' prohibits any new unfunded mandates, freezes county Medicaid costs at their current level, allows counties to opt out of optional Medicaid services and caps state spending. The 'New York State Mandate Relief for School Districts Act' provides mandate relief for school districts. I am committed to protecting our homeowners from the effects of budget-busting unfunded mandates and call for the passage of these two measures before legislators leave Albany in June.

FAMILIES ARE THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF OUR LOCAL COMMUNITIES

All too often, the needs of the family working to make a better life for their children are simply not addressed in a Capitol building full of high-powered lobbyists and special interests. Families are the basic building blocks of our communities. As the only legislative leader from upstate New York, I consider it my job to represent the interests of all the families in my district and throughout upstate. I will work hard to reduce the tax burden on hard-working families by making the 2011 middle-class tax cut permanent, helping students pay for college with 'Retain-NY' and eliminating the state sales tax on items that working families use most, including gasoline, with 'Shop-NY."

SHRINKING THE SIZE AND COST OF STATE GOVERNMENT

Reforming state government by making it more efficient and responsive to the people it serves is a crucial part of shrinking its size and cost. Passing my 'Thruway Authority Accountability Act' will restore accountability, increase efficiency and save taxpayer dollars by making structural reforms and statutory changes at the Thruway Authority.

Albany must focus on implementing fiscal policies that spur economic development, get New Yorkers back to work, provide economic and regulatory relief to businesses and taxpayers, and preserve important programs on which thousands of individuals rely.

What do you think? I want to hear from you. Send me your feedback, suggestions and ideas regarding this or any other issue facing New York State. You can always contact my district office at (315) 781-2030 or e-mail me at kolbb@assembly.state.ny.us.