Tedisco: Seniors, Disabled Cannot Shoulder State’s Woes

Assemblyman opposes governor’s cuts to Access Pass program

June 1, 2010

Assemblyman James Tedisco (R,C,I-Schenectady-Saratoga) today called upon the governor and commissioner of the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) to return funding to a program benefiting seniors and disabled citizens. State funding was recently cut for OPRHP’s Access Pass program, which provides certain permanently-disabled residents with free or reduced admission to OPRHP and Department of Environmental Conservation facilities. Tedisco said the move disproportionately harmed the state’s most vulnerable residents.

“This blatant money grab by the governor hurts those who can least afford it,” said Tedisco. “By eliminating 65 percent of previously-eligible Access Pass holders, the governor is balancing the state’s fiscal woes on the backs of senior citizens or individuals with limited mobility. Whether it is the state’s construction industry, school districts, parks, or dedicated workers, the governor has a proven track record of unfairly targeting the wrong individuals under his fiscal mismanagement.”

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