As we are heading into the final days of session, I am sorry to report that this year’s session appears to be ending as it began: on the wrong foot, focusing on the wrong priorities. It is discouraging that the Assembly is leaving so many vital public policies on the table as lawmakers prepare to leave town for the summer. Issues like improving our roads, bridges, and infrastructure were left out of the budget and ignored for the second half of session. Improving school safety, lowering taxes, or passing meaningful reforms were also ignored.

The year started by giving taxpayer dollars away as free tuition for illegal immigrants, and now the Assembly is voting on a bill to give illegal immigrants driver’s licenses. I voted against both measures because they pose serious security concerns. I am especially concerned about the integrity of our elections since the Assembly also passed legislation making it easier for people to vote without verification of their identity.

The year began with the introduction of legislation by some of my liberal, downstate colleagues, to prioritize the wants of criminals over the law-abiding citizens of our state. Bills to raise the minimum wage of inmates and provide taxpayer-funded visitor bus trips to prisons were introduced and advanced. They even moved ahead with a measure to give prisoners an annual cost of living adjustment! On top of this the governor has pardoned thousands of convicts including cop killers, pedophiles and rapists.

What I have asked, and continue to ask, is “what about the law-abiding, hard-working citizens of our state? What about the mothers and fathers budgeting month-to-month for basic necessities? What about the grandparents struggling to make ends meet because the cost of living in our state continues to rise? What about the recent graduates who want to stay close to home and their families but can’t find a job?”

The downstate driven agenda in Albany has ignored you. It is heart-breaking to me, as a lifelong Western New Yorker, to witness Albany’s new progressive agenda completely forsake the needs of our state. But it has also made me more determined to continue to fight for you and for the communities we love to call home.

As I write this monthly column to report from Albany to you, I am working hard to deliver for our communities back home. My priorities continue to be:

• Advocating for infrastructure and economic development improvement projects in our district;
• Calling on my colleagues to take action on important reform proposals, including my State Contracts Sunlight Act;
• Working together with our volunteers at home and at the State Capitol to author a brand new package of bills to spur volunteer firefighter recruitment, including providing college scholarships and assisting businesses defray costs;
• Championing the Domestic Violence Prevention Act – Brittany’s Law to hopefully one day stop domestic violence throughout our state;
• Moving forward with my Workforce Development Task Force this summer to help end the out-migration “brain drain” of recent graduates in search of career opportunities. Let’s keep them here in state by making sure we have good jobs and the right training programs;
• Continuing to defend our veterans, teachers, healthcare workers and farms; and
• Promoting our historic sites, tourism, and the community organizations that make us so proud to call Western New York our home.

Please know I am working hard for you. As session draws to a close, I will continue fighting and advocating for the priorities of our community, and I welcome you to sign up for my e-newsletter or to follow me on Facebook for more timely updates. To sign up for my e-newsletter, please send me an email at norrism@nyassembly.gov.