Commissioner Mills will focus on the need for high standards for all students; the need to urgently close the achievement gap across lines of race, ethnicity, disability, poverty, and English language learners; the need to raise high school graduation rates; the need to prepare all students to compete in a global economy; and the need to fix a broken & dysfunctional State Aid system.

Linda Sanford — Ms. Sanford is Chair of the Business Council of New York and Senior Vice President of IBM Corporation. One of IBM’s highest-ranking women, Ms. Sanford has been named one of the 50 Most Influential Women in Business by Fortune magazine.

Ms. Sanford will emphasize the need for New York to regain its status as the world leader in innovation to compete and win in the global economy. She will discuss the Business Council’s strategic agenda to enhance New York’s innovation capacity; ways to strengthen our education system; and how the business community can partner with educators to prepare students to become leaders in a globally-integrated marketplace.

Bills Signed By Governor and Now Law

• Registry of Convicted Sex Offenders
This bill strengthens Megan’s Law which is a registry of convicted sex offenders that is available to the public over the phone or — with Level 3 offenders — the Internet. New measures ensure that the most dangerous sex offenders are registered for life with no chance for removal. To access the New York State Sex Offender Registry, call toll-free (800) 262-3257 or www.criminaljustice.state.ny.us. (Chapter 1 of 2006)

• Green Cleaning Products
As of September 1, 2006, a new law requires schools to buy and use environmentally sensitive “green” cleaning products for the health of students statewide.

Proposed Bills

• Teen Drivers
I am introducing legislation to increase the number of supervised driving hours required before issuing a DJ or MJ class license. The state now requires twenty hours of supervised driving before issuing a license. Based on AAA statistics showing a need for more instruction and practical experience, my bill would require 50 driving hours, with some night driving, before teens can get a driver’s license.

My second proposal has restrictions on certain learners’ permits and drivers’ licenses. It prohibits teen drivers to have teenage passengers unless accompanied by a licensed driver twenty one years or older. This is to reduce and prevent the high number of deaths of 16 to 19 year olds who ride with teenage drivers. The AAA reports that automobile accidents are the leading cause of death in this age group.

• Junk Food in Schools
My proposal to ban non-nutritious foods in vending machines has changed to include a prohibition on these type of foods on the cafeteria a la carte menu, and in school canteens or stores. Childhood obesity in New York has gone from 5% in 1970 to 20% today, with Type II diabetes increasing at an alarming rate. It is estimated that one in three U.S. children born in 2000 could be diabetic by age 18. I agree with the U.S. Surgeon General who has called on schools to be the setting in which to address this issue.

Compare Hospitals On New Web Site

The New York State Department of Health has launched a new consumer-friendly hospital comparison tool on all 239 of the state’s acute-care hospitals, analyzing how well they perform in caring for patients with heart disease, heart failure, and pneumonia, and how successful they are in preventing surgical infections. There are other data available to consumers who log onto http://hospitals.nyhealth.gov/

I authored bill A.8081A (S.4759A) to exempt all school districts from the 94-year-old Wicks Law that requires them to award separate “prime” contracts for electrical, plumbing, and HVAC work. This law increases school construction costs by 15-30%, and has cost local taxpayers $37.5 to $75 million since 2000. New York City, Buffalo, and Niagara already are exempt. All districts should be able to hire a single contractor to coordinate the work of the many contractors in a construction project to save money, according to the New York State Association of School Business Officials.