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About this blog

Senator Tom O'Mara's ( R- NY 58th ) weekly column. 

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Take Back New York Sets The Stage For 2022

Take Back New York Sets The Stage For 2022

To kick off the 2022 session of the State Legislature – one that I believe represents one of the truly pivotal sessions in modern history, with New York at a crossroads in so many areas – my colleagues and I in the Senate Republican Conference have put forth a comprehensive set of goals to help grow local and state economies, focus on the financial challenges facing many middle-class families and small business owners, and make public safety an urgent priority.   It’s called “Take Back New
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

3
An Alarm Sounding Louder Than Ever

An Alarm Sounding Louder Than Ever

Here we go again. The ink on the new state budget is barely dry and the Albany Democrats are already eyeing their next tax hike opportunities That’s right. New York’s out-of-control Democrat supermajorities just enacted a $212-billion state budget that blew through a one-time $13-billion windfall of federal aid, increased state government spending by $18 billion, and raised taxes by nearly five billion dollars. Already, it’s not enough for them. Already, it’s being made clear
What In The Name Of Justice Is Going On?

What In The Name Of Justice Is Going On?

Coming off the approval of a new state budget that blows through a one-time windfall of $13 billion in federal aid, increases spending by an unprecedented $18 billion, and raises taxes by more than $4 billion, I’m not expecting this state government under one-party control to take a breath. The relentless pursuit of a so-called progressive agenda will continue while the Legislature’s Democrat supermajorities continue to exert their political leverage over a scandal-plagued Governor Andrew C
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

1
Keeping An Eye On The Future Of New York's Family Farms

Keeping An Eye On The Future Of New York's Family Farms

In case you haven’t noticed over the past 18 months, there’s a lot to keep an eye on in state government. If we have learned anything, in fact, we better have learned that the need for aggressive and vocal legislative oversight in New York State government has never been more critical. The perfect storm of a government under one-party control, which automatically diminishes legislative checks and balances, and the fact that the Legislature’s current Democrat leaders have willingly, alm
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

2
Have We Turned The Page To A New Governor?

Have We Turned The Page To A New Governor?

Under disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo, beginning in March 2020, we witnessed an unleashing of state government by executive order unlike ever before.  Cuomo utilized at least one hundred Executive Orders that allowed him to unilaterally change hundreds of state laws, as well as implement rules and regulations and make spending decisions, without legislative approval or local input. Any semblance of legislative checks and balances was abandoned. The same was true for local decision ma
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

1
New York's Family Farms Facing Yet Another State Imposed Crisis

New York's Family Farms Facing Yet Another State Imposed Crisis

In the near future, a New York State Wage Board, established under a 2019 law known as the “Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act,” will revisit one of the key provisions of that law – and its decision could forever impact New York agriculture as we have known it.  Specifically, this Wage Board could decide, without legislative approval, to lower the mandatory overtime pay threshold from the current 60 hours to 40 hours.  In other words, the future of farming in New York State still han
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

1
Not So Fast On The End Of The Nursing Homes Tragedy

Not So Fast On The End Of The Nursing Homes Tragedy

During a rare question-and-answer session with reporters at an event at Yankee Stadium last week to announce a new vaccination program, Governor Cuomo continued to defend his administration’s actions on the spread of COVID-19 in New York’s nursing homes, where the pandemic has already taken the lives of nearly 16,000 seniors. Some viewed the governor’s latest eye-popping comments as a victory lap – that the governor was pounding his chest and declaring himself absolved of any and all wrongd
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

1
Taking Back New York To Get More Urgent

Taking Back New York To Get More Urgent

The month of March could end up marking a critical turning point in the future direction of New YorkState.  The Senate and Assembly Democrat supermajorities controlling the state Legislature will soon unveil “one-house budget bills” likely seeking to expand the already $216-billion Executive Budget proposal put forth by Governor Kathy Hochul in January.  I’ve previously noted in this column that, if enacted, the governor’s proposal by itself -- already nearly $5 billion higher than the
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

1
Governor Hochul About To Uproot The Future For Many Farmers

Governor Hochul About To Uproot The Future For Many Farmers

In early September, a New York State Wage Board, established under a 2019 law known as the “Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act,” will finalize its recommendation on one of the key provisions of that three-year-old law – and its decision could forever impact New York agriculture as we have known it.  Specifically, the Farm Wage Board will issue a final report on September 6 and recommend lowering the mandatory overtime pay threshold for farmworkers from the current 60 hours to 40 hours, a
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

3
New Budget Of Missed Opportunities And A Troubling Future

New Budget Of Missed Opportunities And A Troubling Future

In the weeks leading up to the adoption of the new, 2021-2022 state budget, I kept repeating that we had an opportunity and a responsibility to utilize a massive, one-time flood of federal stimulus aid, nearly $13 billion, in a fiscally responsible way.  We faced an unprecedented chance to commit New York State to a short- and long-term strategy for the post-COVID rebuilding, restoring, and resetting of local communities, economies, environments, and governments for the long term. Equa
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
The Plague Of Lawlessness Keeps Spreading Statewide

The Plague Of Lawlessness Keeps Spreading Statewide

On the evening of Friday, March 30, Chemung County Sheriff’s Investigator Mike Theetge, in pursuit of a suspect in a retail theft operation at a Target store in Big Flats, just two miles from my home, was struck and thrown by the getaway vehicle being used in the crime. Investigator Theetge, 35 years old, suffered a skull fracture and brain bleeding. As of this writing, he remains hospitalized in critical condition. First and foremost, please keep Mike and his family in your prayers. The ou
It's Time To Go Back To School

It's Time To Go Back To School

Together with my regional legislative colleagues, state Assembly representatives Marjorie Byrnes, Chris Friend, Joe Giglio and Phil Palmesano, we are sending a message to Governor Andrew Cuomo: It’s time.  We believe it is time to allow every local school district throughout the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions we represent -- and, in our view, districts across New York State – to return to full-time, in-person classroom instruction. School administrators and staff are ready. Tea
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
Valor Glass Vials Holding Hope For Today, And A Future Warning

Valor Glass Vials Holding Hope For Today, And A Future Warning

The headline of the week, the start of COVID-19 vaccinations across America, might at first appear unrelated to the state comptroller’s announcement last week of divesting the New York State Pension Fund of investments in fossil fuel companies. Under the surface, however, there’s a connection between the two that’s critical to the future of manufacturing in New York.    We have been hoping and praying for a COVID-19 vaccine. The fact that starting this week we’re on the doorstep of wid
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
New York Didn't Do Everything Right

New York Didn't Do Everything Right

If you haven’t been following the daily developments on the Cuomo administration’s nursing homes disaster, following are just a few highlights from the past week: Nine Democratic members of the state Assembly, in a letter urging support for stripping Governor Cuomo’s COVID-19 emergency powers, accused the governor with federal obstruction of justice, calling it a “criminal use of power”; Governor Cuomo responded by publicly attacking one of the letter’s signers, Assemblyman Ron Kim
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
One Of the Worst Disasters In State History

One Of the Worst Disasters In State History

It turns out my column’s headline last week -- “Attorney General report a beginning, not the end” – was quite an understatement. In fact, the AG’s report has sparked nothing short of a firestorm since its release on January 28. It revealed, among many findings, that the Cuomo administration was underreporting COVID-19 nursing home deaths by potentially as much as 50 percent – and the findings were based on a review of just ten percent of the state’s nursing homes. After requests for mo
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
Protecting Those That Protect Us

Protecting Those That Protect Us

Over the past three years, the home security consumer awareness and research organization Safewise conducted a “The State of Safety in America” nationwide survey of “more than 15,000 Americans to see how safe they feel.” According to the group’s final report, issued in March, “New York is by far the most concerned state.” New York is the “most worried about safety” state in the nation, the survey found, with 70 percent of New Yorkers reporting that they are “concerned daily” about their saf
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
A Session Of Turning Points In The NYS Legislature

A Session Of Turning Points In The NYS Legislature

The State Legislature’s 2021 regular session, which ended late last week, will have long-lasting ramifications for our region and for all New Yorkers. Without question, it will be remembered as a year of turning points -- the biggest one, of course, being that we have finally started turning the corner on the COVID-19 pandemic with steadily dropping infection rates and rising numbers of vaccinations. I’ll get back to the pandemic emergency later in this column. The new 2021-2022 state
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
Relief For Farmers Now, But Long Term Threat Remains

Relief For Farmers Now, But Long Term Threat Remains

It was a relief last week when New York’s newly created Farm Labor Wage Board chose not to immediately lower the state’s current 60-hour overtime threshold for farm workers. The relief is only temporary, however. The three-member Board made it clear that it will revisit the potential change next November with an eye toward moving ahead on a lower, likely 40-hour threshold. A lot can happen between now and next November, but make no mistake this is where we stand: farmers and their advo
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
Resetting New York State For The Post-Covid Future

Resetting New York State For The Post-Covid Future

In yet another reminder of these COVID-19 times, the 2021 legislative session kicks into high gear on Monday when Governor Andrew Cuomo delivers New York’s first-ever virtual State of the State address to New Yorkers. Nevertheless, what won’t change about this annual speech is that we’ll get a better sense of the direction Governor Cuomo intends to try to take this state in the months and possibly years ahead. We’re expecting to hear a direction not just to continue steering this state thro
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
Will Governor Hochul Turn Her Back On Farmers?

Will Governor Hochul Turn Her Back On Farmers?

To no one’s surprise last week, a New York State Wage Board established under a 2019 law known as the “Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act” finalized its recommendation to lower the mandatory overtime pay threshold for farm workers from the current 60 hours to 40 hours.  If left to stand by Governor Kathy Hochul, it will change the face of New York State agriculture as we have known it for generations.  Listen to the warnings, governor. Stay at 60.  Grow NY Farms, a coalition of
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

1
On The Brink of Making It Worse For Farmers

On The Brink of Making It Worse For Farmers

We need to keep close watch on the future of our family farms.   A key action of the 2019 legislative session was the approval of controversial legislation (S6578/A8419, Chapter 105 of the Laws of 2019) known as the “Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act,” sponsored by two New York City legislators and pushed hard as a “progressive” hallmark by Governor Andrew Cuomo. Throughout the year prior to this law’s enactment, I joined many opponents, including the New York Farm Bureau, to warn a
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
Budget Adoption Process Kicks Into Virtual High Gear This Week

Budget Adoption Process Kicks Into Virtual High Gear This Week

The 2021-2022 state budget adoption process marks my first as the Ranking Member on the Senate Finance Committee. It’s shaping up as one of the most consequential state budgets New York has ever faced. After a year when the COVID-19 pandemic has turned everything upside down, the choices made and the direction charted in this new budget could be transformational for the future of local communities, economies and taxpayers. In my view, here’s the fundamental question: Will it be transfo
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
Need For Balance, Common Sense ON New York's Energy Future

Need For Balance, Common Sense ON New York's Energy Future

The cost of a gallon of gas keeps climbing.  The warnings keep coming over significantly higher home heating costs this winter and who knows how many winters to come.    All of this, as well as the fast approaching start of a new legislative session in January, helped make for good timing on last week’s listening session in the Southern Tier on a piece of legislation that, if it’s enacted, could reach into the wallets of everyday New Yorkers and cut into the bottom lines of New York employe
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
Watch Your Wallet Heading Into A New Year In NYS Government

Watch Your Wallet Heading Into A New Year In NYS Government

Following the November 2018 elections, when New York State government fell under total, one-party, Democrat control, then-Governor Andrew Cuomo exclaimed that he felt “liberated” without a state Senate Republican Majority left standing in his way.   The former governor’s feeling was no doubt shared by the longstanding Assembly Democrat majority and, of course, the newly crowned Senate Democrat leadership. And, indeed, liberated they have been, especially when it comes to spending taxpa
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
 

State Government Cannot Be Left To Cuomo Legacy Building

Late last week, after New York State reached a 70% vaccination rate statewide, Governor Cuomo ran with that benchmark as a reason to celebrate – fireworks included. He didn’t declare the end of the state of emergency, keep in mind, or the executive emergency powers that he still holds. The governor just saw fit to gather a group of cheering supporters at the World Trade Center in Manhattan to kick off a daylong, campaign-style celebration of...Governor Cuomo and his administration’s charade
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

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