With summer winding down and students headed back to school, there are a number of Western New York priorities that were passed by the state Legislature but still requires the signature of Gov. Cuomo before they can become law. Among these are keeping Western New York Children’s Psychiatric Center open, legislation to help charities fund raise with online raffles and expansion of the Volunteer Firefighters Benefit Law to include treatments for diseases, including cancer.

These initiatives need to be addressed as soon as possible so they can benefit the people of our state, and particularly Western New Yorkers. I strongly encourage the governor to sign these bills into law and hope you will join me in asking him for his support in bringing these important matters to resolution.

The potential closure of the Western New York Children’s Psychiatric Center brought both sides of the aisle together in Albany to support bipartisan legislation (A.6505) allowing the facility to stay open as an independent site. I was proud to be among this bill’s sponsors.

With so many Rotary, Lion’s and booster clubs, and other not-for-profit charities in our community, I was also proud to sponsor legislation that would support charities’ fundraising efforts (A.6095). The Charitable Gaming Act of 2017 would close a loophole in state law to allow charities to conduct online raffles as a fundraiser.

And, after working so closely with many of our volunteer fire companies on the Lake Ontario flooding that swept through much of our district this spring, I was especially honored to sponsor legislation that expands the Volunteer Firefighter Benefit Law so that these volunteer heroes have greater health protection. Please join with me and the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY) in calling for this bill to be signed into law immediately. You can join us by clicking on the following link: www.fasny.com.

As your new representative in the state Capitol, I was very proud to deliver on so many priorities for our region this session. But please know, I am continuing to monitor these outstanding legislative issues and working hard for their final enactment into law. I always welcome your feedback and hope you will continue to share with me. You can reach me and my staff or sign up for my e-newsletter by emailing me at norrism@nyassembly.gov, follow me on social media for daily updates, or call my district office at (716) 839-4691 to schedule an appointment.