Assemblymember Cahill Reacts to Governor’s State of Upstate Address

January 16, 2008

Today, Governor Spitzer delivered the first of what will become an annual State of Upstate Address. Predictably, much of the speech was dedicated to plans for revitalizing our struggling economy. While he did not specifically mention the Hudson Valley or Catskill regions, his focus on property taxes, economic development, access to affordable and quality health care, spiraling energy costs and improving education struck at the heart of the major concerns of our communities.

For the second time in a week, while pledging to hold the line on taxes, the Governor acknowledged a growing consensus that we can no longer distinguish between taxes raised at the state level or those locally, such as through the unfair and unaffordable real property tax. He reiterated a clear commitment to thoroughly address the property tax crisis by forming a commission to examine the way we fund our schools and local government consolidation. When it came to education, even in the face of a budget deficit, the Governor signaled that he does not intend to step back from our pledge to increase state education aid and ensure equity for all children.

The foundation of the Governor’s revitalization plan is rooted in the role higher education plays in economic development. Strong investments in our public universities will not only benefit students but lift up entire regions. His proposal for a University Innovation Fund – an initiative that echoes the Assembly’s long-stated goal of regional economic development – that will serve to connect our unrivaled network of public and private universities with industry leaders and help to position the Hudson Valley as a global force in innovation, manufacturing, research and development. This is entirely consistent with the approach I have been working on with The Solar Energy Consortium (TSEC).

The Executive embellished upon many welcomed proposals that were touched on during last week’s State of the State address. Chief among them was the Governor’s plan to submit legislation that will revive our Brownfield Clean-up Program enabling many polluted sites to become shovel ready for reuse and development. He also expanded on his affordable housing and physician recruitment proposal. He pledged a $50 million boost in local funding through the Aid to Municipalities program along with continued investment in the rural broadband initiative.

Governor Spitzer has advanced an ambitious agenda for 2008. I am looking forward to examining the details of his proposals when he advances his Executive Budget next week.

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