Assemblyman Mike Norris (R,C-Lockport) has been appointed by Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R,C-Pulaski) to lead the Assembly Transportation Committee for the Minority conference. Norris has served as a member of the Assembly Transportation Committee for the past four years, on the Joint Budget Transportation Conference Committee, and participated in the Minority Conference’s Taskforce on Critical Infrastructure and Transportation. 

Leader Barclay said, “I’m proud to appoint Mike Norris as our Ranking Minority Member on the Assembly Transportation Committee. He has been a strong voice for the people of Western New York and his district throughout his time in Albany. I know his experience and common-sense leadership will be valuable on this important committee.”

Norris said, “I am honored to have the opportunity to serve our state in this capacity and for the recognition and trust Leader Barclay has placed in me to continue championing these critical issues in this new role. Infrastructure has been a priority for me since I was first elected, and I have fought hard to deliver for our district in terms of long overdue increases to local highway, bridge, and sewer funding as well as during times of emergency.”

Norris was a leading advocate for the historic infrastructure and community revitalization economic development investment project along Lake Ontario known as the REDI Program. Additionally, he was the proponent of extending the Discover Niagara Shuttle into Lockport, has worked together with the New York State Canal Corporation to shine a light on canal improvement needs here in Western New York, and advocated for increasing budget funding for the state’s Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Fund, bridge programs, and sewer and water improvement projects.

“As the Ranking Minority Member, I look forward to working with highway superintendents and municipal leaders from across our state to raise awareness for parity between upstate and downstate infrastructure needs and funding allocations. For far too long, the needs of downstate have dominated the conversation when it comes to transportation and infrastructure, and I will continue to refocus Albany’s attention and spending in a more balanced way,” Norris continued. “Though I am generally very critical of bloated state spending, we must take this moment in history to invest significantly in our failing infrastructure.We must get back to the basics in our approach to governing, and infrastructure must be a top priority as it significantly impacts our daily lives and local economy.”

Norris is the Chairman of the Assembly Minority Conference and will continue his service as the Ranking Minority Member of the Assembly Election Law Committee and as a member of the Assembly committees on Rules, Ways and Means, and Judiciary.