Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
Followers 0
  • entries
    73
  • comments
    19
  • views
    2,177

About this blog

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

Entries in this blog

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
It's A Progressive Free For All In New York State

It's A Progressive Free For All In New York State

With Governor Hochul and the Legislature’s Democrat majorities starting negotiations over a new state budget, the battle lines are drawn and alarms are sounding throughout the halls of the State Capitol.  From criminal justice to health care to workforce development, advocacy groups and their legislative supporters make it clear that they are all-in – forget the consequences – on moving New York State in an extremely liberal, often radical, big spending, high taxing, so-called “progressive”
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
Is There A Place For Common Sense In This Government?

Is There A Place For Common Sense In This Government?

The last time New York’s farmers and agricultural leaders warned Governor Hochul that a misguided, politically motivated state action risked undermining farming as a way of life and a foundation of so many local economies, she effectively covered her ears and turned her back. That was last October, when the governor gave the final go-ahead to a recommendation from the state’s Farm Wage Board, established under a 2019 law known as the “Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act,” to lower the mand
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
Honoring The Memory Of The 11th Day

Honoring The Memory Of The 11th Day

The years keep passing, twenty now, and Americans of all ages will never forget. Two decades later, we can never forget. Throughout this 20th Anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks that forever altered our nation and the world, we will, in the words of former President George W. Bush, pause to “honor the memory of the 11th day.” There will be solemn observances at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in Washington, at the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Pennsylvania,
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
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
Governor Hochul Ignores New York Agriculture

Governor Hochul Ignores New York Agriculture

It wasn’t long ago in this column -- in early September in fact – that I asked the question, “Will Governor Hochul turn her back on farmers?”  I asked it after 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.   Following the Wage Board’s action, Governor Hochul was given 45 days to send down the
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
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
Governor And Allies Caught Circling The Wagons

Governor And Allies Caught Circling The Wagons

Albany at the moment may best be described by a few lines from All The President’s Men, “It leads everywhere. Get out your notebook. There’s more.” In fact, there was a lot more at the State Capitol last Thursday night when reporters from the New York Post dropped a bombshell scoop detailing a secret virtual meeting of top legislative Democrats and members of Governor Cuomo’s inner circle. The Post obtained an audio recording of the Democrats-only meeting and the story quotes one of th
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
Governing From One Cuomo Emergency To The Next

Governing From One Cuomo Emergency To The Next

Governor Andrew Cuomo declared another State of Emergency in New York State last week – just about 14 days after finally calling an end to the COVID-19 emergency declaration -- and immediately began issuing a new round of the “Cuomo executive orders” that have now become the way of governing in this state.  Not surprisingly the governor touted his new “Disaster Emergency on Gun Violence” with what’s become his go-to playbook while he eyes a fourth term in office and fights for political sur
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
God Bless America And God Bless Our Troops

God Bless America And God Bless Our Troops

From Arlington and Gettysburg to Woodlawn and Bath and hundreds of other national veterans’ cemeteries and monuments across this land, Americans will gather once again to observe Memorial Day.  The nation’s long-standing Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in the nation’s capital is highlighted by a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, on which the following words are inscribed, “Here rests in honored glory an American solider known but to God.” 
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
Dark Spots In Governor's Vision For NY's Energy Future

Dark Spots In Governor's Vision For NY's Energy Future

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has now put forth one of her administration’s most ambitious public policy proposals to date and, in doing so, gave all of us a good look at her administration’s vision for addressing one of our state’s most urgent short- and long-term challenges: energy.  With that in mind, it’s fair to say at this juncture that the Hochul administration is squarely following in the footsteps of the Cuomo administration – which only continues to raise serious and troubling qu
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
Courage And Conviction Honored On Memorial Day

Courage And Conviction Honored On Memorial Day

From Arlington to Gettysburg to Woodlawn and hundreds of other national veterans’ cemeteries and monuments across this land, Americans will gather once again to observe Memorial Day. The nation’s long-standing Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in the nation’s capital is highlighted by a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, on which the following words are inscribed, “Here rests in honored glory an American solider known but to God.” Therein lies
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
Attorney General Report A Beginning, Not The End

Attorney General Report A Beginning, Not The End

To summarize where we stand in our months-long effort to better understand the tragedy that is New York’s COVID-19 nursing home crisis -- and the Cuomo administration’s response to it – we now have a report from the state attorney general. It arrived last week after months and months of repeated requests -- from legislators (including myself), Democrat and Republican, reporters, watchdog groups, and from family members who have lost loved ones in nursing homes – for the most basic of inform
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
Are The Lights Coming Back On In Albany?

Are The Lights Coming Back On In Albany?

Four years ago, when then-Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Democrat majorities in the Senate and Assembly enacted what’s known as the “Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act” (CLCPA), many of us started warning that Albany Democrats are pushing ahead with a radical agenda of energy mandates that ignores the cost to all New Yorkers.  New York State has been a leader in clean energy and reducing emissions and we should continue our advancement. Here's just a few facts highlighting that
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
Approaching The New Year With Renewal Of Hope

Approaching The New Year With Renewal Of Hope

Above all else this week, I hope that this column will find you and your families, friends, and neighbors well and doing your best to have a memorable and meaningful holiday season.  Approaching the start of another new year in New York State government, we could focus on looking ahead to the debates that always await the governor and legislators in ordinary times -- traditionally difficult challenges on education, economic development, environmental protection, fiscal policies, infrastruct
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
Approaching The New Year With Hope

Approaching The New Year With Hope

Finally. Heading toward the beginning of a new year, the ongoing distribution of more widespread COVID-19 vaccinations appears to be the long-awaited mile marker on this incredibly long and hard road back to public health and economic renewal. First and foremost, make no mistake that reaching this point of potential renewal is the product of personal responsibility, and enormous perseverance and sacrifice on the part of so many. Every single one of you who have heard the public he
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
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
A State Budget Process That Blindfolds The Public

A State Budget Process That Blindfolds The Public

Early last week, when it became increasingly clear that Governor Hochul and the Legislature’s Democrat leaders were not going to stick around at the State Capitol to enact a budget now a month overdue, we renewed our call for desperately needed accountability in this process. While the governor stepped out on her own Friday night to announce a “conceptual” agreement with legislative leaders on a final budget, as of this writing it remains a Governor Hochul “take my word for it” budget. Ther
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
A New Hope For The Empire State

A New Hope For The Empire State

Now it’s our turn. Over the past few weeks, Governor Hochul has had her say and put forth her priorities for New York in both a State of the State message and, most recently, in last week’s unveiling of her proposed 2024-2025 executive budget. Ultimately, she will undertake negotiations with her Democrat counterparts in the Senate and Assembly leadership to put in place a final state budget that will carry New Yorkers forth into the ongoing, all-Democrat vision for New York’s future –
A Critically Important Budget For Future Generations

A Critically Important Budget For Future Generations

Last March, right around this time, we were at the beginning stages of a COVID-19 response that would turn the world and our individual lives upside down in ways most of us never envisioned at the start.  It was also at this time last year that Governor Cuomo and legislative leaders in the Senate and Assembly were negotiating a new state budget. Once the details of the state’s 2020-21 fiscal plan began to leak out, I issued the following warning on March 23, 2020, “We are facing an unpreced
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
A Budget Disguised As Fiscal Discipline Threatens Local Schools

A Budget Disguised As Fiscal Discipline Threatens Local Schools

One of the most controversial actions of Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposed 2024-2025 state budget is her move to cut education aid to more than half of New York State’s school districts outside of New York City. If enacted, the governor’s proposed education cuts would fall most heavily on certain regions, including many small, largely rural school districts across the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes. Here's a few of the most staggering cuts to schools in the 58th Senate District: Hammondsport
Sign in to follow this  
Followers 0
×
×
  • Create New...