With the deadline for the state budget just weeks away, it is important that our residents are aware of how the negotiations may impact them. It is also important for you to know where I stand on budget issues and what I will be fighting for. I will be fighting for increased funding to protect our drinking water and improve our local roads and bridges, acquire additional aid for our local school districts, put forth a solid plan to make college affordable for as many students as possible, and the protection of homeowners by reverting the STAR program back to its original form.

Water is our most precious resource. Very recently communities in our state have received shocking news that their drinking water is not only unsafe, but dangerous due to the hazardous chemicals found in it. Additionally, our water infrastructure systems are aged and in need of upgrades. Our local towns and villages cannot bear those costs alone. I am working to secure $2 billion in funding to protect our aquifers and source water, offset the cost of replacing dangerous lead pipes and provide assistance to our local governments to upgrade our wastewater infrastructure.

As a concerned resident of our district who travels from Utica down to Orange County, I see the same roads and bridges that you see every day on your way to work, taking your children to school, or traveling to see friends and family. I know they are in dire need of repair. If our roads and bridges are crumbling, they are not safe for travel. The state must carve out significant resources in this year’s budget and invest heavily in making our roads safe. Rather than continually forcing unfunded mandates on us that raise our taxes, the state should be providing this funding to our locals towns and counties to help us repair our aging infrastructure with minimal impact to your paychecks.

As a father, I want the best education possible for my son and for your children as well. Increased funding allocated in the budget for our local school districts is a must. We need those funds to not only ensure current programming remains available to our students, but to provide new programs that allow our students to pursue alternate pathways to graduation and well-paying careers. Exciting new programs planned for our schools, including agricultural science, computer science and mechanical engineering cannot become a reality for our children without adequate state funding.

After our students graduate from high school, those that choose to pursue higher education will need to figure out, with their families, how they will pay for the exorbitant costs associated with a college education.

The state must enact legislation such as that proposed by my Assembly Minority colleagues and I to increase the household income threshold to include more families, increase the amount of TAP awards, make graduate students eligible to receive TAP and provide a tax credit to those paying off student loans. We cannot allow our students to fall victim to the governor’s weak and exclusive plan which leaves too many hardworking families with no help and no options. I will fight to see our plan included in this year’s budget.

Finally, we must see the STAR Program, which provides tax relief to our homeowners, reverted back to its original form – a tax credit. The governor changed this program last year and it has harmed our residents. Many are still awaiting the funds they need in the form of a rebate check that was supposed to arrive in the fall. At a time when every dollar counts, that money fills your gas tank, puts food on your table or pays a bill. The Assembly recently passed legislation to address this, and I urge all of our residents to call our senator and ask that they pass this legislation as well so that it can be agreed to in the budget.

These, among others, are the issues I will be fighting for in the coming weeks, and I will do my best to get our region of New York State every bit of what we need.