Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C,I-Corning) and his Assembly Minority colleagues this week unveiled their top budget priorities as negotiations are intensifying ahead of the April 1 deadline to approve a state spending plan.

“Budgeting is about priorities. We know the investments we’ve targeted will make a difference for the middle class. It’s about promoting affordability for families, small business owners, farmers and manufacturers. It’s about turning our economy around and making sure that all regions of our state, not just New York City, can thrive again,” said Palmesano.

At the press conference, Palmesano detailed their proposal to create jobs and revitalize local roads, bridges and culverts by increasing the state’s investment in the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS).

“We have a tremendous unmet need when it comes to investing in our local roads and bridges,” said Palmesano. “Safe, reliable infrastructure is about promoting public safety. We need to be proactive, not reactive. Investing state resources in local infrastructure creates jobs, saves property taxpayers money and shows job creators that New York is open for business.”

Palmesano and his colleagues highlighted the following priorities:

• Improving the quality of care and quality of life for our most vulnerable citizens, the developmentally disabled, by helping provide a living wage for direct-care support professionals.
• ­Increase CHIPS funding to help repair local roads, bridges and culverts.
• Increase funding for libraries.
• Maintain Middle-Class Tax Cuts
• Provide Unfunded Mandate Relief
• Make the Property Tax Cap Permanent
• Keep AIM Funding Levels and Process Intact
• Help Small Businesses thrive and grow
• Improve the Tuition Assistance Program and offer Student Loan Relief
• Call for hearings on the dangerous prison closure proposal

 

            Palmesano said their plan stands in stark contrast to what the Majority in Albany has been prioritizing this session.

“We’re focused on helping small businesses and manufacturers grow and create jobs. We’re focused on providing much-needed tax relief. We’re focused on improving our local roads and bridges. We’re focused on helping to make college more affordable. We’re focused on improving the quality of care and quality of life for the developmentally disabled.  Bottom line, we’re focused on helping to improve the quality of life for hardworking individuals and their families,” said Palmesano.

“Unfortunately, however, the Majority in Albany has a very different agenda with misplaced priorities beyond the damaging laws and unfunded mandates they have already passed. They now are looking  to advance  legislation to  legalize marijuana, legalize prostitution, create open heroin injection sites, increase the minimum wage paid to inmates in prison, create a single-payer health care system in New York and  create their very own so called “Green New Deal” right here in New York,” added Palmesano.

“It’s long past due for New York to stop advancing  damaging, out-of-touch  policies that have chased, and will continue to chase, jobs and people right out of New York state. And  it’s long past due that we start looking out for the small businesses, manufacturers, farmers and  middle- class families who work hard, play by the rules and are just trying to get by,” concluded Palmesano.