Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C,I-Corning) expressed frustration and disappointment regarding Gov. Cuomo’s veto of bipartisan legislation (A.10706) which would require the state to reimburse counties for providing indigent legal services.

Palmesano co-sponsored the bill in the Assembly.

By 2023, the legislation would have required the state to deliver full reimbursement, a provision which would have shifted hundreds of millions of dollars in costs from overburdened municipal governments and generated relief for local property taxpayers.

“This legislation could have saved property taxpayers between $300 and $400 million dollars per year. Families, seniors, farmers, manufacturers and small-business owners would’ve felt this relief in a real way. The governor promised to deliver mandate relief when we instituted the tax cap. The legislature presented him with a commonsense, bipartisan plan, and he rejected it. He continues to break his promise. I hope that taxpayers are mindful of this veto when the governor goes on his public relations tour and tries to convince New Yorkers that is he committed to property tax relief.”

Palmesano also emphasized that the bill would’ve protected the civil liberties of vulnerable New Yorkers.

“Our constitution takes very seriously the right of every New Yorker to have fair legal representation. That right should never be compromised because an individual does not have the resources to pay for counsel and their municipality cannot provide the required assistance because it is financially unable to do so. The governor is shying away from the state’s responsibility to protect civil liberties,” said Palmesano.

The bill was drafted following a legal settlement between New York State and the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU). The NYCLU sued the state in an effort to require it to pay for indigent legal services in five particularly under-served counties: Ontario, Onondaga, Schuyler, Suffolk and Washington. The NYCLU prevailed.

“The state is already paying for these five counties. What about other counties facing similar financial stress? The governor had a chance to promote fairness, protect municipalities, provide property tax relief and uphold due process. He failed.”