“I’m very excited to be back in Albany and get this year’s legislative session underway. We have a lot to accomplish this year, and it starts with enacting much-needed ethics reform. We can begin with passing the important rules changes the Assembly Minority Conference introduced last year, bringing much-needed openness, accountability, and transparency to the Assembly. We need to start this year off on the right foot, and that starts with giving the people a state government they can trust and depend on.

“Additionally, our upstate roads and bridges are in need of serious investments. While New York City is flourishing, our infrastructure is failing as a result of years of mismanagement and underfunding. It’s not only unfair, it’s unsafe. It’s time to even out the playing field and pay attention to the needs of upstate New Yorkers and ensure we get our fair share of funding in 2016.”