Elmira, N.Y., September 16 - State Senator Tom O’Mara (R,C,I-Big Flats), Assemblyman Chris Friend (R,C,I-Big Flats) and Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C,I-Corning) today reminded area residents that September is National Infant Mortality Awareness Month...

Assemblyman Christopher S. Friend (R,C,I-Big Flats) has consistently pointed to New York’s out-of-control taxation policies as a driving force behind the lack of new investment in the Southern Tier. A recent study performed by the Tax Foundation and...

“The decision rendered by Gov. Cuomo’s minimum wage board was as predictable as it will be damaging. The governor failed to get what he wanted passed through the Legislature so he invented a panel to bypass us. Much like his decision on hydrofracking,...

Assemblyman Christopher S. Friend (R,C,I-Big Flats) has signed on as a sponsor of Assembly Bill 8247, which limits how much emphasis can be placed on student standardized test scores in a teacher evaluation. The legislation was drafted in response to...

Assemblyman Christopher S. Friend (R,C,I-Big Flats) is an ardent opponent of Gov. Cuomo’s Wage Board and his potential plan to raise the minimum wage only for fast food industry workers. Friend argues that increasing the cost of labor on just one sector...

Assemblyman Christopher S. Friend (R,C,I-Big Flats) is raising concerns regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) expansion of its Clean Water Act. The EPA’s new rules expand the type of water and wetlands regulated by the Clean Water...

Assemblyman Christopher S. Friend (R,C,I-Big Flats) is calling on the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to stop selling all personal data effective immediately. It has recently come to light that the DMV made $60 million through the sale of personal...

Assemblymen Christopher S. Friend (R,C,I-Big Flats) and Phil Palmesano (R,C,I-Corning) recently welcomed the Southern Tier Montessori School to the Capitol and the Assembly Floor. The students spent the day learning how state government operates and the...

Assemblyman Christopher S. Friend (R,C,I-Big Flats) is urging Gov. Cuomo to reconsider an additional $25 million marked to continue advertising the START-UP NY program. Earlier this month, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said the advertising...

Assemblyman Christopher S. Friend (R,C,I-Big Flats) is responding to recent comments by Deputy Assembly Speaker Jeffrion Aubry (D-Queens) comparing the refusal to offer college courses to inmates to slavery. Friend recently fought against the closure...

“According to a report released today by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, the marketing campaign on behalf of START-UP NY has had ‘no tangible benefit.’ It appears that the only thing less successful than START-UP NY has been the marketing...

Assemblyman Christopher S. Friend (R,C,I-Big Flats) is calling out Gov. Cuomo for claiming he never met with Glenwood Management and its founder Leonard Litwin. Litwin and Glenwood donated heavily to the governor’s campaign account, and held...

Assemblyman Christopher S. Friend (R,C,I-Big Flats) is calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to explain the recent stories about his failure to adhere to federal pay-to-play rules. The governor is barred from giving taxpayer-financed bond work to campaign contributors...

Assemblyman Christopher S. Friend (R,C,I-Big Flats) is urging his colleagues to adopt a new series of tax cuts in light of New York’s Tax Freedom Day. Tax Freedom Day is when New Yorkers have finally worked long enough to satisfy their annual federal...

Assemblyman Christopher S. Friend (R,C,I-Big Flats) is calling on Temporary President of the Senate and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Nassau) to resign his post so the government can operate without being further hindered by his legal troubles....

Assemblyman Christopher S. Friend (R,C,I-Big Flats) is urging State Education Department officials to expand the number of education summits discussing the controversial teacher evaluation system passed in the State Budget. The event, being held Thursday...

Assemblyman Christopher S. Friend (R,C,I-Big Flats) is calling on his colleagues to bring about sweeping Medicaid reform following a report by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli exposing millions of dollars in fraud within the program. “We have the...

Assemblyman Christopher S. Friend (R,C,I-Big Flats) is a sponsor of Assembly Bill 5127, which would require a fiscal impact statement on bills. The measure was voted down by the Assembly Majority on the floor today. “Right now, the fiscal impact...

Assemblyman Christopher S. Friend (R,C,I-Big Flats), a sponsor of Assembly Bill 4665, which would require a 2/3 super majority in both houses to raise state taxes, saw the measure voted down on the floor today by the Assembly Majority. “Raising...

Assemblyman Christopher S. Friend (R,C,I-Big Flats) will support Assembly Bill 6777 sponsored by Assembly Education Chair Cathy Nolan should it come to the floor for a vote, but remarked on how the bill differed from the version sponsored by the Assembly...