“The governor outlined an ambitious and expensive agenda for the state today. I do hope that we can finally make the tax cap permanent, but New Yorkers must hear more about how the state is going to reduce spending, as well as costly unfunded mandates. In the coming months, I would like to see more attention paid to how we can make the state more affordable for families and businesses. The number of residents leaving our state is unacceptable, and it isn’t because of cold weather. A plan to remedy this must be put in place immediately.

“Furthermore, I am very much opposed to the governor’s plan to legalize recreational marijuana. The legalization of this mind-altering drug in other states has led to higher rates of auto accidents and injury as well as an increase in insurance rates. Legalizing marijuana for recreational use is not a sound solution for raising revenue and will create more problems that our residents do not need.”