FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 21, 2013
Statement from Speaker Silver on
Conclusion of Regularly Scheduled Session
As we conclude our regularly scheduled session, I have never been more proud of my Majority colleagues as they worked on many important issues and stood
together in the final days to fight for the rights of women.
Working with the leadership of Governor Cuomo, we accomplished many great things for the people of New York this year, including:
- restoring cuts to programs for the developmentally disabled;
- raising the minimum wage to $9 an hour in 2015, a victory for hardworking men and women;
- passing the third consecutive on-time budget that extended middle-class tax cuts;
- investing nearly a billion dollars in our local schools;
- delivering sensible new gun laws;
- passing a plan to create jobs and help revitalize our upstate economy; and
- assisting New Yorkers rebuild from the devastating effects of Sandy.
Although the regular session is coming to an end, our work is never really finished. We hope our partners in government will join us in finally passing the complete Women's Equality Act that includes protecting a woman's right to choose. In addition, the Assembly has passed important measures that we hope will become law, including:
- the New York DREAM Act to help young immigrants realize the benefits of higher education;
- a Farmworker's rights bill to give those laborers important worker protections;
- a bill to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana;
- campaign finance reform to get big money out of our elections; and
- an early voting measure to boost voter participation.
The Assembly Majority is committed to fighting for working people across the state, and we look forward to working with the Governor and the Senate to restore our economy and help those who need it most.