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NEW YORK'S BUDGET: ON TIME, MOVING FORWARD
By Assemblyman Brian M. Kolb
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My Assembly Republican colleagues and I have been promoting significant changes in New York's budget process for some time. Now, the state budget passed, on time, after 20 straight years of late budgets! I'd say progress is being made.
The reforms and progress of this year are encouraging, and I know they helped bring in the budget by the April 1 deadline! It's encouraging to see improvements made, though there is still more to do. New York has needed reform in the budget process and throughout state government for a long time, and I truly believe we are now on the correct path.
A cornerstone of our budget reform package was implementation of budget conference committees, which are bipartisan work groups from the Assembly and Senate that were charged with hammering out a state budget agreement between the two houses. This year, the Legislature implemented budget conference committees as of March 15, just as Assembly Republicans requested.
Making the comptroller the final arbitrator on anticipated budget revenues if an agreement on those numbers weren't reached by March 10 was yet another part of our plan. Again, this additional important aspect of our budget reform package was agreed to by legislative leaders. Fortunately, this safeguard was not necessary because legislative leaders reached an expected revenue consensus before the deadline.
There were more improvements to this year's budget process, including having the minority leaders of both houses participate in ongoing budget talks and opening to the public the negotiations for a new spending plan. Adding transparency to these meetings, I believe, streamlined the budget process and helped lead to approval of an on-time budget.
Though there were significant changes to the process, one idea that has remained consistent to passing a budget in New York is a spirit of bipartisanship and compromise. In 2005, the Legislature showed more convergence than I can ever remember. Agreeing on issues such as economic development and Medicaid reform were especially challenging, but working together as a legislative body - not individual parties - helped us complete the budget.
I will work to the best of my ability to see this through and make a stronger, more efficient New York in the years to come. Now that we know a budget can be adopted on time, we need to ensure that it happens every year - for the good of all New Yorkers.
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KOLB APPLAUDS LAND-CLAIM DECISION BY U.S. SUPREME COURT
Assembly Brian M. Kolb (R,C-Canandaigua) today applauded the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the case of the City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation. In its 8-1 decision for the city of Sherrill, the Supreme Court concluded that the Oneida Nation cannot expand its sovereign territories merely by purchasing more land from the general public.
"This decision is a huge victory for so many taxpayers," Kolb said. "I'm pleased that the courts have sided with Sherrill and with New York state. Hopefully, this decision will help bring a speedy end to the land claims that have caused so many New Yorkers years of heartache."
In its decision, the Supreme Court stated that tribes should not receive tax-free status for non-Indian land purchased outside the original, designated reservation. This decision is particularly relevant to Cayuga County municipalities because they claim Indian tribes owe about $130,000 in property taxes, said Kolb.
"In addition to the revenue for our counties and the state, this decision will help ease the worries of residents within the land-claim area," Kolb noted. "Assured that they will no longer be forced to leave their homes and properties, residents in Cayuga and Seneca counties can feel secure in their homes and businesses."
Assemblyman Kolb revealed the land-claim issue is high on many residents' list of issues identified in his recently released 2005 Constituent Survey. Kolb's staff continues to tabulate the results in advance of a final report.
"Many of my constituents who responded to the survey were despondent about the land-claim issue. This ruling should give them some piece of mind," said Kolb.
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