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Senator Tom O'Mara

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Blog Entries posted by Senator Tom O'Mara

  1. Senator Tom O'Mara
    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 would suffer a 30.7%  or $1.6M cut; Penn Yan, 18.5% or $2.2M cut; Watkins Glen, 16.8% or $1.9M cut; and South Seneca, 16% or $1.5M cut.
    The governor’s education proposal can’t stand. The property tax increases required to ameliorate these cuts would be prohibitive. That’s the message my Senate Republican colleagues and I delivered at the Capitol last week.
    As I’ve stressed time and again, New York State has been steadily moving closer to the edge of an economic and fiscal cliff – due in large part to the spending appetites of former Governor Cuomo, Governor Hochul and, since 2018, the Democrat-controlled, biggest-spending Legislature in state history. The bottom line is that the state budget, between 2018 and 2023, has grown by upwards of $60 billion!
    This growth is in the first five years of one-party Democratic control of both houses of the state Legislature, and the offices of Governor, Comptroller, and Attorney General. Just that growth alone is larger than the budgets of more than 30 states.  It is larger than the states of Florida and Texas combined, each of which has a larger population than New York.  It spends 1½ times more per capita than California which has more than twice our population.
    From the outset, many of us have warned about this out-of-control spending, that it would never be sustainable and puts a new generation of state and local taxpayers at risk of shouldering an even heavier burden far into the future (keeping in mind that New York is already recognized as one of the highest-taxed, least affordable to live, and most unfriendly to business states in America).
    In fact, the bill’s already coming due for Democrat overspending. We start the current year facing a state budget gap of $4.3 billion, with ongoing deficits in the next three years projected to be $5 billion, $5.2 billion, and $9.9 billion, respectively.
    Consequently, Governor Hochul – suddenly painting herself as a diligent fiscal disciplinarian and watchdog -- unveiled her 2024-2025 state budget proposal with the following statement, “We can't spend like there's no tomorrow, because tomorrow always comes.”
    That’s true, however the governor needed to stand for it long before now. And it’s equally important to understand the context of the governor’s full game plan this year.
    Her opening gambit offers a $233-billion spending plan, an increase of $4 billion over New York’s current budget that represents a significant increase and, if enacted without any changes at all (and I've yet to see the Legislature come back with a budget that spends less than the Executive's proposal) will be the largest-ever state budget.

    There are proposed cuts and negligible belt-tightening, but not truly for the sake of any long-term fiscal discipline in this state. It’s being done, instead, to accommodate higher (and long-term) spending elsewhere – while, at the same time, knowing full well that the Legislature is left with no choice but to demand restorations in key areas.
     As I noted at the start, education is the prime example of this gamesmanship. Governor Hochul’s proposed budget calls for the elimination of what’s known as the “save harmless” provision of the state education aid distribution formula. “Save harmless” is utilized to ensure fiscal stability for school districts, especially high-need districts, and has long been critically important to small and rural schools. According to our Senate Republican budget analysis, this move would cut nearly $170 million from approximately half of the state’s school districts and result in particularly hard hits in specific regions of the state, including, as I said, small and rural districts across the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes.
    The Governor made much fanfare of “consumer protections” in both her State of the State and Executive Budget presentations.  However, her education budget proposal is nothing short of “Bait and Switch” lacking “Truth in Advertising.”
    While local school districts get cut in excess of $400 million in this budget, she includes another $2.4 billion (bringing the two-year total to $4.3 billion) to provide taxpayer-funded assistance and services to the ever-growing surge of asylum-seeking migrants flowing into New York from the nation’s southern border.  In addition, to add insult to injury, the state will pay the federal government $15 Million to rent a former military base, Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, for use as a migrant shelter to house migrants the federal government has allowed to flow illegally across the Rio Grande!
    Her budget also spends $150 Million for floating pools in the rivers of New York City (I kid you not) and $45 Million for planting trees, to name just two. These may be nice things, but not in times of what should be fiscal austerity and in the midst of staggering cuts to rural, suburban, and small city school districts.
    That’s just one example of the shell game going on here.
    In other words, Governor Hochul’s proposed budget is not truly aiming for long-term fiscal discipline and responsibility. It’s a budget that in the name of fiscal discipline attempts to take away from some to keep giving away far more to others.
    That’s a game we can never play, in my opinion, with the quality of education for our small, rural school districts across the Upstate region, or any school district at all for that matter.
    The Senate Republican budget analysis reaches this conclusion, “As proposed, the Executive budget includes few proposals to deal with the high cost of the everyday lives of New Yorkers. There is little in the category of affordability proposals advanced, that work towards mitigating the increased costs in food, home fuel or transportation that everyday New Yorker’s face. There is little in the way of improving New York’s business climate which has been rated one of the worst in the nation. There is little in the way of addressing the State’s outmigration problem which, according to a study in October of 2023 by the Economic Innovation Group, has caused New York to lose $24.8 billion in net adjusted gross income (AGI) during the pandemic.”
    That's a significant loss of tax revenue.
    We desperately need to get New York State’s fiscal house in order. But it’s outrageous for Governor Hochul to target small, rural school districts. That’s not an answer to this state’s deep-rooted fiscal irresponsibility. It’s just redirecting misguided priorities that won’t move us any closer to fiscal stability, taxpayer relief, or long-term affordability and sustainability for most New Yorkers.
    I need you to join in the fight opposing Governor Hochul's budget cuts to our schools and handouts to illegal immigrants.  Please contact the Governor directly by calling 518-474-8390 and by emailing at: governor.ny.gov/contact.
  2. Senator Tom O'Mara
    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 unprecedented shutdown of New York State’s government, economy, individual communities, and day-to-day life. Everyone’s attention is focused and needs to remain focused on getting through this public health crisis. We can do a budget that keeps this state running and meeting its obligations throughout this emergency. Once we have weathered this storm, we can get to work assessing the damage, determining who and what needs repair, and have an open and full discussion on the best way to move forward for this entire state, upstate and downstate. That would be common sense. That would be responsible. That would be fair. I hope that’s the course Governor Cuomo and legislative leaders will take.”
    One year later, the same warning holds true. All signs point to the fact that we have weathered the worst of this pandemic. We are reopening economies, schools, and the everyday fabric of our communities. Vaccine supplies are ramping up and distributions are expanding.
    In short, there is, finally, real hope that life as we knew it before last March, in large measure and after great pain and sacrifice, can and will return.
    This week, legislative conferences in both houses of the Legislature – Senate Republicans and Senate Democrats, Assembly Republicans and Assembly Democrats – will put forth “one-house” budget documents essentially spelling out each conference’s fundamental priorities for the final 2021-2022 New York State budget.
    This year’s final budget, the first that can at least begin to look ahead to the post-COVID future, still needs to be a budget of restraint, I believe.   
    In other words, the newly enacted federal stimulus relief package delivers a windfall to New York’s state and local governments, somewhere in the neighborhood of $25 billion. It is a massive, one-time infusion of federal aid that, in my opinion as well as in my position as the ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, needs to be utilized responsibly.
    One of New York’s leading fiscal watchdogs, the Empire Center, puts it this way, “The highest priority of state and local officials should be to avoid plowing the federal money into recurring spending commitments that will create bigger budget deficits in the future. In an ideal world, New York pols will embark on a careful, painstaking assessment of needs, weighing short-term relief against recurring long-term benefits.”
    That’s well said and I would largely reissue my March 2020 warning about not going too far too fast in this upcoming state budget until “we can get to work assessing the damage, determining who and what needs repair, and have an open and full discussion on the best way to move forward for this entire state, upstate and downstate. That would be common sense. That would be responsible. That would be fair. I hope that’s the course Governor Cuomo and legislative leaders will take.”
    As far as I know or have seen, there has not yet been a full, thorough, transparent accounting and assessment of the deep-rooted, grassroots-level impact COVID-19 has had and will continue to have on New York and all of our communities, in every region of the state, over the next several years.
    And yet, the clouds are already forming that Governor Cuomo and the Democrat majorities in the Senate and Assembly are preparing to grab hold of this one-time federal funding and still embark on a wild goose chase for even more, new, unneeded revenue – through massive tax increases and other actions – in order to move forward with massive new spending with New York State already facing potential budget shortfalls and other fiscal burdens for years to come.
    Furthermore, and equally alarming to me and many others around the Capitol: We are very concerned that Governor Cuomo, who is hanging on by his fingernails under the weight of multiple and growing scandals, will not hesitate to use this budget process, through which he can exercise extraordinary power, to buy off the Democrat legislative majorities from aggressively pursuing his removal from office.  
    These next several weeks will be telling and critically important for future generations.
  3. Senator Tom O'Mara
    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 future, by the way, that too many New York residents keep telling us they’re not happy with.
    But now there’s another vision for this state’s future. Last week at the Capitol, the Senate Republican Conference unveiled a plan that we’re calling, “A New Hope for the Empire State.”  It’s a comprehensive legislative agenda that, we believe, pinpoints the failings and shortcomings of New York government under all-Democrat control, which speaks to challenges and crises that one-party government is not addressing, and that begins proposing alternative priorities and solutions for where we want to take this state.
    It's a legislative agenda putting forth ideas and strategies for fighting back against the high taxes and excessive cost of living that have delivered to New York the dubious and devastating distinction as the state with the highest population losses in America.
    It’s a legislative agenda putting forth ideas and strategies for fighting to reclaim some sense of law and order again in New York, a state under all-Democrat leadership where the criminal element runs rampant, rising crime and violence rules too many streets and neighborhoods, and a “no consequences” approach to criminal justice has made a mockery of public safety and security.
    It's a legislative agenda putting forth a bolder and stronger commitment to responsible fiscal practices including spending restraint, across-the-board tax relief, regulatory reform, commonsense investment, serious mandate relief for local governments, and the value of local decision-making.
    In other words, it’s a legislative agenda giving voice to priorities and responsibilities in New York government that, to put it as simply and straightforwardly as possible, have been handed a death sentence by Albany’s current powers that be.
    In putting forth a detailed report on “A New Hope for the Empire State” last week, we wrote, “Over the last five years, New Yorkers have had a front-row seat to what unaccountable government looks like. One-party control has made New York increasingly unaffordable. Residents feel unsafe and are unsure that things will get better in the future. Far too many New Yorkers have looked at this sad reality and decided the only option was to leave the state for somewhere they can make a better life for their families.”
    You can find out more about “A New Hope for the Empire State” and read our full report on my Senate website, www.omara.nysenate.gov.
    In announcing the plan, Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt said, “New Yorkers are deeply dissatisfied with the direction of our state and our Conference is here to provide an alternative path forward. I have traveled throughout the state and people are tired, frustrated, and angry. They feel forgotten.”
    Here at the outset of the 2024 legislative session, these ideas demand and deserve a place in this government. We face an affordability crisis. We face a border crisis. Law and order are in free fall. The Albany Democrat direction for New York simply fails to produce any hope for a long-term, sustainable future for communities, families, workers, businesses, industries, and taxpayers. New York is a state in decline that continues to become less safe, less free, less affordable, less economically competitive, less responsible, and far less strong for the future.
    We are at a dangerous crossroads and we must enact an across-the-board agenda to cut taxes, address affordability, and rebuild stronger and safer communities – and we’ll be fighting for this new direction and a new hope every step of the way in the weeks and months ahead.
    Senator Tom O'Mara represents New York's 58th District which covers all of Chemung, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga and Yates counties, and a portion of Allegany County.
  4. Senator Tom O'Mara
    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 budget, as I have pointed out numerous times in this column, increased state taxes by nearly $5 billion and hiked state government spending by a whopping $18 billion (to an eye-popping total of $212 billion – a budget more than the budgets of the more populous and growing states of Florida and Texas combined).
    In fact, the Albany Democrat giveaway in this new budget went far beyond any reasonable sense of fairness, responsibility, or sustainability for hard-working, taxpaying citizens. Governor Cuomo and the legislative Democrat supermajorities enacted a tax-and-spend plan that will force future generations of taxpayers to foot an enormous bill for the pursuit of a so-called progressive, far-left, extremely liberal, largely New York City-based agenda. It’s an outrageous wish list. In a state long known as one of the highest-taxed, highest-spending states in America, this Albany Democrat vision for New York’s future sets a new standard of foolhardiness, including a new taxpayer-financed, $2.1-billion fund to provide lump-sum payments of up to $15,600 to illegal immigrants who were excluded from receiving federal stimulus checks or unemployment benefits since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
    We had an opportunity and a responsibility to utilize a one-time windfall of roughly $13 billion in federal stimulus aid under a fiscally responsible, short- and long-term strategy for the post-COVID rebuilding, restoring, and resetting of local communities, economies, environments, and governments for the long term. Equally important, we needed to recognize the fiscal cliffs New York could face for the foreseeable future, steer clear of any massive new taxing and spending, and bolster the state’s emergency reserve funds. That’s not what this budget did. It sets up an economic and fiscal disaster.
    This year’s budget is another turning point, in my view, one that moves New York toward an even more unsustainable future for generations of taxpayers. Recall the "Gap Elimination Adjustment" draconian cuts to education Albany Democrats imposed in 2010, the last time they held majorities in both houses of the State Legislature.  They've set us up for similar cuts two years from now after the Democrats blow through the federal COVID-19 relief windfall and this year's record increase in state spending.
    The same goes for this state government’s direction on issues of criminal justice and corrections, and law and order. Bail and discovery reform, parole reform, prison inmate violence, a building “defund the police” movement within the highest levels of state government, over the past two years under one-party control of state government, we have seen a pro-criminal mentality take hold, one that has gone too far and keeps going too far in New York.
    It also marks a dangerous and disturbing turning point for public safety and security. We need to keep standing up, speaking out, and working against it.
    Back to the pandemic. One of the year’s most egregious turning points, for me, is that the Albany Democrats left town last week without declaring an end to the COVID-19 state of emergency declaration in New York State and without bringing an end to Governor Cuomo’s one-man rule.
    The so-called repeal action by the Legislature’s Democrat supermajorities back in March was nothing more than a smokescreen to allow the continuation of government by Cuomo edict. In fact, that action removed the April 30, 2021 date when the governor’s powers were supposed to automatically expire and, instead, extended Cuomo’s unilateral powers indefinitely until he declares it.  Don’t hold your breath.
    In short, at a time when our local communities and economies should be facing an optimistic turning point in the COVID-19 pandemic and fully making their own reopening decisions, they are faced with continuing to be at the arbitrary, non-scientific, non-sensible whims of this governor who continues to flail under several mounting investigations of his abuse of power. The continued mask mandate for children in schools is just the latest outrageous example. 
    Under current rules, the Legislature can rescind Cuomo’s pandemic emergency powers by approving a Concurrent Resolution. Senate and Assembly Republicans put forth a resolution to do just that, but the Democrat majorities ended the session without acting. In other words, they have left Governor Cuomo completely in control for the foreseeable future – even while this governor is scandal-scarred and facing multiple investigations.
    That’s an unthinkable abandonment of legislative responsibility. There was a need for flexible and swift executive action at the start of the pandemic in March 2020, when so much was unknown. But that time quickly passed.
    Since the onset of the pandemic over fifteen months ago, when the governor was first granted the emergency authorization, he has issued nearly 100 Executive Orders that have allowed him to unilaterally change hundreds of state laws, as well as implement rules and regulations, and make spending decisions, without legislative approval.
    Many of the governor’s actions have now gone well beyond the necessary scope of the COVID-19 response.  
    Over the past 15 months, since May 2020, the Senate GOP has advanced more than 50 motions on the Senate floor to execute a straight-out repeal of the governor’s emergency pandemic powers. Every single one of these Senate Republican motions was rejected by the Senate Democrat majority without one Democrat voting to end Cuomo’s tyrannical control.
    Endless executive orders have failed and keep failing New York’s local communities, families, economies, and workers. It’s unthinkable that the Albany Democrats will continue to let Governor Cuomo sit in Albany, exert total control, and issue directive after directive without any regard for legislative checks and balances, or local input. 
    This Legislature’s majorities ignored the most critical turning point of all, which would have been to go all-in on ending Cuomo’s unilateral powers, restore local decision-making, and get fully on board with a safe, practical, sensible, and badly needed reopening of our local communities and economies. 
  5. Senator Tom O'Mara
    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. There’s no legislation for the public to review. 
    Keep in mind that the enactment of a new state budget is the most impactful action that state legislators take every year. It reaches into the pockets and the everyday lives of all New Yorkers. That will be especially true this year when Governor Hochul and Albany Democrats finally put the finishing touches on a new state budget pushing state spending to its highest level ever and, at the same time, including far-reaching, non-budget-related policy initiatives that many good government groups believe should not even be considered as part of the budget adoption process.
    Yet, negotiations go on entirely behind closed doors. That becomes especially troubling – and dangerous -- in this era of complete one-party control of state government where there is an unprecedented lack of legislative checks and balances. The public is kept in the dark like never before. We know that taxpayers will be shouldered with their heaviest-ever burden footing the bill for at least a nearly $230-billion spending plan, one of the world’s largest governmental budgets! We know that there will be tax and fee increases. We know that there will be new mandates. We know that debt will increase. We know that there will be winners and losers.
    And we know that it’s poised to include monumental policy actions like banning natural gas hookups in the construction of new homes and buildings by 2026, an even higher state minimum wage (a move that farmers, small business owners and others have been warning against, and rightly so) and some sort of attempt (will it even begin to go far enough?) to address the failed bail reform that continues to devastate public safety and security across this state.
    What we still do not know, however, with any specificity, is exactly how Governor Hochul and legislative Democrats intend to carry it all out – or, for that matter, what surprises are still in store.
    The bottom line is that we don’t know and that’s the point Senate and Assembly Republicans are making clear: Before any legislator votes on this year’s final budget, our constituents deserve to know what’s in it.
    Specifically, we called on Governor Hochul and legislative Democrats to reject the use of so-called “messages of necessity” once the budget legislation is printed and ready for a vote. The State Constitution includes a vital “aging” provision that essentially requires a three-day waiting period (commonly called “aging”) before legislation can receive a final vote. While three days is not nearly enough time in the context of a stack of budget legislation as thick as dictionaries, it at least gives individual legislators, the press, the public, and all interested parties the chance to review the plan’s details.
    However, a longstanding loophole in the law authorizes governors to issue a “message of necessity” to bypass this three-day waiting period and allow for an immediate vote on any piece of legislation once introduced.
    It’s time to bring this state’s budget adoption process out into the light of day. Fundamental checks and balances have effectively gone by the wayside in this state government. 
    This budget demands a full public airing and the appropriate time for review and debate, but that’s not where we are headed. It's a broken process that keeps producing bloated state budgets that taxpayers will never be able to afford.
  6. Senator Tom O'Mara
    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 that we’re in for an unending search for more tax dollars to afford more spending and every taxpayer will pay the price.
    Their latest target includes a newly proposed 55-cents-per-gallon hike in the state tax on gasoline to help generate revenue to implement a radical, unsustainable, impractical climate change agenda. Specifically, the legislation (S4264/A6967), known as the “Climate and Community Investment Act,” calls for accelerated state-level actions to achieve broad and far-reaching climate change policies. It includes the 55-cents-per-gallon increase in the gas tax as well as increased taxes on heating oil, propane, and natural gas, which is estimated to increase home heating fuel costs by 26%.
    In short, the legislation would implement regressive taxes that would leave lower- and middle-income families and workers, motorists, truckers, farmers, manufacturers and other industries, and seniors among the hardest hit. Especially across Upstate New York.  
    According to the Tax Foundation, New York currently has the 7th highest gas tax in the country, at 43.12 centers per gallon withCalifornia currently the highest at 62.47 cents per gallon. This legislation would raise New York’s tax to 98.12 cents per gallon, an increase of more than 127 percent, and would make New York’s gas tax more than 57 percent higher than any other state.  
    New York’s business tax climate has long been noted by the Tax Foundation as one of the nation’s worst. 
    Greg Biryla, Senior State Director of the National Federation of Independent Business of New York (NFIB of NY), recently said, “COVID-19 continues to present unimaginable and unprecedented challenges for New York’s local businesses and job creators…Albany should be concentrating all its efforts on identifying policies and solutions to support and sustain those small businesses still hanging on rather than imposing new burdens or exploring new ways to increase costs. Significantly higher taxes on gasoline, transportation, and heating fuel is the wrong idea at the worst possible time.”
    The just-released Census numbers made it clear, once again, that the exodus from New York remains well underway and because of it, we will, among other negative consequences, lose one Congressional seat next year.
    Different pundits can hem and haw about why -- and they are -- but clearly the most significant fact it’s underway is because of New York State government policies.
    Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Legislature’s Democratic supermajorities may well have state government under lock and key at the moment. They can boast all they want about how the voters have spoken and willingly, according to them, chosen to live under one-party, largely downstate Democratic control.
    Many New Yorkers, however, continue to vote with their feet. They are leaving New York because of our high cost of living, high taxes, out-of-control spending, oppressive business tax climate, and, especially now, because they see a scandal-scarred state government in full pursuit of an out-of-touch, pie-in-the-sky, unsustainable, dangerous, and disastrous so-called progressive agenda.
    Earlier this year, the well-respected Upstate advocacy organization, Upstate United (previously known as Unshackle Upstate), once again sounded the alarm on the tax burden.
    Upstate United Executive Director Justin Wilcox said, “As special interests keep calling on Albany to raise taxes, our organization is committed to fighting for much-needed tax relief. Overburdened taxpayers continue to flee New York due, in part, to the state’s extraordinary tax burden. Returning to the days of massive tax hikes and bloated budgets isn’t progressive, it’s problematic.”
    It’s an alarm sounding louder than ever.
     
  7. Senator Tom O'Mara
    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 health guidelines, and then honored them, made the difference. This public health emergency has called for all hands on deck and you have responded. 
    Keep holding the line and listening to our local public health departments.
    Public health has been and remains the top priority because it is paramount to being able to fully attack the economic crisis that has and is inflicting enormous pain and upheaval.
    A true reopening will be the product of strong regional teamwork on public outreach and care. This teamwork will remain fundamental to our success throughout the weeks and months ahead. The experience gained and the bonds cemented over the past ten months will continue to serve us well. 
    Now we need to keep pushing forward, reopening more sectors of local economies, and getting more workers back on the job as soon as possible. 
    On the economic front of this battle to reclaim and regain solid ground in our lives, we will need the Cuomo administration to better recognize that our regional reopening can and must move forward with greater clarity, common sense, and fairness. 
    Many of us here in the region – government officials, business owners, and workers alike -- believe this reopening process can be accomplished more effectively and rapidly without jeopardizing public health. Guidelines that may be absolutely necessary in downstate regions, for example, shouldn’t be unreasonably applied upstate.
    We will need to redouble our emphasis on this need for fairness. I’ve had this discussion with many local leaders and citizens. We will continue pushing the administration to recognize specific regional concerns and suggestions – and the need for sensible compromises and effective, safe resolutions. 
    There is enormous work facing us to fix what’s broken and keep providing fundamental assistance. On the legislative front, we must continue to hear the voices of small business, farming, tourism, manufacturing and other foundations of local economies.
    Coming out of this COVID-19 response and shutdown, these ongoing discussions, on a bipartisan basis, will become increasingly critical.
    Since the beginning of the state shutdown in mid-March, a “One-Stop” webpage on omara.nysenate.gov has provided, in one place, access to a wide range of information and resources from across the spectrum of federal, state, and local agencies and organizations. This page will remain available as new guidelines, recommendations, and updates are continually issued.
    Pay attention to them. As I have said repeatedly throughout these long months, one way we stay together is by staying informed.  
    Finally, as we begin this week that has traditionally had as its centerpiece a reflection on the year past, we focus on this: Thank You.
    A single list here can never begin to cover them all, but let’s keep foremost in our hearts and minds and prayers the doctors and nurses, all health care workers and first responders, public health departments, food banks, mail carriers, police officers, bus drivers and grocery store workers, transportation and sanitation crews, delivery drivers, long-haul truckers, service organizations, business leaders, bank and credit union employees, educators and librarians, farmers, government officials at every level, the men and women of our military, and an absolute army of other essential employees, neighbors, and, of course, incredibly selfless volunteers — throughout the public and private sectors – providing diligent public outreach, every day and every night.
    Only because of these incredible and inspiring efforts have local communities been able to persevere, stay together, remain hopeful, move forward, and keep planning for better days. 
    They remain the rays of hope at the beginning of a New Year, the silver lining of strength that has and will keep seeing us through.
    For all of them, let’s all keep doing our part. Thank you, and may you and your families, friends, and neighbors be well and stay safe.
     
  8. Senator Tom O'Mara
    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, infrastructure, public safety and security, and so many more. 
    But these remain far from ordinary times. Consequently, the beginning of 2023 will arrive during what continues to be an incredibly long and hard road back to community and economic renewal. As always, this hoped-for revitalization will continue to hinge on strong regional teamwork on the goals and the priorities we share across the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions. The experience we have gained and the bonds we have cemented over the past few difficult, unexpected, unprecedented years will continue to serve us well in 2023. This teamwork will remain fundamental to our success throughout the year ahead. We need to keep pushing forward. We need to get more and more sectors of local economies moving again. We need to keep getting more and more workers back on the job as soon as possible. 
    And we need a state government that’s focused on addressing the right priorities. 
    At the start of the New Year, I look forward to beginning my representation of the newly redefined (as a result of redistricting) 58th Senate District. This redefined district continues to include the core of the district I have represented since 2011 – Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, and Yates counties – with the addition of Seneca and Tioga counties, and a part of Allegany County. It is one of New York’s geographically largest legislative districts. Nevertheless, the communities and citizens comprising the 58th District harbor common strengths and share fundamental goals, and I look forward to working with all of you to be a strong voice in Albany – and to keep fighting to secure our priorities for stronger and safer communities. 
    On the economic front of this ongoing battle to reclaim solid ground across our region and within individual communities, we will need the Hochul administration to better recognize that our regional revitalization can and must move forward with greater clarity, common sense, and fairness. Many of us across the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions -- government officials, business owners, and workers and families alike – continue to believe this revitalization can and should be accomplished more effectively and rapidly. 
    In 2023, we will need to redouble our emphasis on the need for fairness. I’ve had this discussion with many local leaders and citizens. We will continue pushing the administration to recognize specific regional concerns and suggestions -- and the need for sensible compromises and effective, safe resolutions. 
    There is enormous work facing us to fix what’s broken and keep providing fundamental assistance. On the legislative front, we must continue to hear the voices of small business, farming, tourism, manufacturing, and other foundations of local economies. Moving forward, these ongoing discussions, on a bipartisan basis, will become increasingly critical. As I have said repeatedly, one way we stay together is by staying informed. 
    Finally, as we continue this week that has traditionally had as its centerpiece a reflection on the year past, we still focus on this: Thank You. 
    Thank you to everyone throughout the public and private sectors providing diligent public outreach and service. Because of these incredible and inspiring efforts, local citizens and communities have been able to persevere, stay together, remain hopeful, move forward, and keep planning for better days. Let’s all keep doing our part. These will remain the rays of hope at the beginning of the New Year, the silver lining of strength that has and will keep seeing us through. 
    Happy New Year. 
  9. Senator Tom O'Mara
    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 we lead in these efforts: 
      • New York State consumes less total energy per capita than all but two other states;  
      • New York State’s per capita energy consumption for the transportation sector is the lowest in the nation; 
     • In 2020, New York State’s per-capita, energy-related carbon dioxide emissions were lower than those of any other state. However, New York State's energy-related CO² emissions have since increased about 24% due to the 2021 closing of the Indian Point nuclear plant - a glaring example of the lack of foresight and rationality in New York's energy plan.  
    Further, as is, our state emissions account for only 0.4% of total global emissions. In other words, even if we get to zero, at astronomical expense and devastation to New York's economy, we will have zero impact on global climate. 
    Governor Hochul took the reins from Cuomo and remained all-in. The trouble has been that their plan never included a straightforward cost-benefit analysis of its feasibility, affordability, or reliability. And up to now, what New Yorkers have been left facing are mountainous costs and dire consequences.  
    For their part, the governor and her top energy officials have simply denied it. They have insisted over and over that the benefits would far outweigh costs. That was their story and they stuck to it for the better part of four years – until a week or so ago when, suddenly, it was like the lights came back on in Albany. The word was out that the governor wanted to revise a key provision of the original CLCPA, one that will directly reduce the plan’s cost of implementation.  
    The governor finally focused on the fact that New York is currently one of only two governmental entities worldwide utilizing an irrational and unfeasible accounting metric as the basis for examining the effect of carbon emissions and determining the timeline for actions to address it. Maryland is the only other state to have enacted a climate law using this metric. All other states, as well as nations and countries undertaking emissions reduction efforts, base their actions on a standard, internationally accepted, science-based accounting metric. 
    On April 3, in an opinion article published by the USA Today Network, the co-chairs of New York’s Climate Action Council, Basil Seggos, Commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation, and Doreen Harris, President and CEO of the NYS Energy Research and Development Authority, signaled a dramatic change in the administration’s thinking. 
    “When the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act was passed in 2019, it included a way of counting New York’s emissions that differs from the scientific standard used by nearly every other state and country in the world. In addition, NO COST ANALYSIS WAS COMPLETED (emphasis mine) at that time, and as we all know, the economic landscape has changed dramatically since 2019,” Seggos and Harris wrote. “The reality is that we are advancing this transformation to fight climate change at a time in which many New Yorkers are struggling financially and economically. Now, under Hochul's direction, we are taking a close look at consumer cost impacts to ensure we will reach our climate goals while protecting New Yorkers. As it stands today, the climate act’s emissions accounting method is certain to be a major driver of future costs for New York families (emphasis mine).” 
    In a subsequent Capital Tonight television interview, Seggos also said that the plan, as currently constructed, will impose extraordinary costs across the board on New Yorkers, including causing home heating costs to increase by 80% and gasoline prices will rise by 62 cents per gallon. Yes, you read that right: home heating cost increases by 80% and gas prices higher by 62 cents per gallon under the current plan. 
    Finally recognizing this, the chairs of the Senate and Assembly Energy Committees quickly introduced legislation (S.6030/A.6039) that would make the change to the internationally accepted accounting metric. 
    Initial reports were that the governor and legislative supporters wanted the accounting metric changed as part of this year’s budget. By the end of the week, inexplicably but not surprisingly for this administration, the governor quickly backed off making it a budget priority in the face of mounting pushback from staunch supporters of the current plan and their legislative allies.  
    Nevertheless, the stunning change of thinking remains: The Hochul administration, and some top legislative Democrats, finally acknowledge that, left as is, the CLCPA will cost everyday New Yorkers and their families far too much on everything, upend lives, and devastate local businesses and economies. They finally recognize that the current plan holds massive consequences, on so many levels, and that it’s time to pump the brakes on an out-of-control climate strategy that New Yorkers don’t want, can’t afford, and, most importantly, know won’t make a bit of difference for the climate in this state, the nation, or anywhere around the world. 
    From day one, that is what Senate and Assembly Republicans have been saying. Far too many New Yorkers have been kept in the dark about these potential costs and consequences, largely because Governor Hochul and her top aides either did not truly know or really didn’t want to shine any light on it. Now that they have, however, it remains more important than ever for more citizens, communities, businesses, families, and workers to fully understand where New York’s energy future is headed and to demand a desperately needed rethinking and slowing down of this process. 
  10. Senator Tom O'Mara
    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 information from the governor’s office.
    Prior to AG’s report, for example, we could not get a straight answer from Governor Cuomo, state Health Commissioner Howard Zucker, or any other top Cuomo administration official on even the most straightforward question: How many COVID-19 deaths have there been in nursing home facilities and among those transferred from nursing homes who then died in hospitals?
    For months, the Cuomo administration constantly pointed to its own number (the most recent being 8,677) and then utilized that number in daily briefings and elsewhere to tout New York State’s admirable standing in this regard in comparison to other states around the nation.
    Except that was false. Many of us long suspected that the number was much higher, that it did not include the number of nursing home residents who were transferred from a nursing facility to a hospital and died there. When we asked the administration to provide that fuller number – including at a joint Senate-Assembly hearing last August – the answer was: We’re working on it. It went on like this for month after month after month.
    Until last week. The AG’s report last Thursday blew the lid off the Cuomo administration stonewalling by revealing that the administration has been undercounting COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes by as much as 50 percent. According to the AG’s numbers, that means the total number of nursing homes deaths is not the governor’s 8,677, but something closer to 13,000.
    And lo and behold, later on the very same day the AG’s report was released, the state produced new data confirming, in fact, that the preliminary total number of confirmed and presumed COVID deaths in nursing facilities and among nursing home residents who died after being transferred to a hospital was 12,743, or approximately 46 percent higher.
    Why was the Cuomo administration able to suddenly produce, within hours, what many of us have been requesting for months?
    Why did it take this outside report, which generated national attention, to finally get the governor to sit up straight?
    Why was he couching the most basic facts on this tragedy for so long?
    And, of course, what else is there that we still don’t know, but should know? Is it coincidence that the governor finally releases stats the very same day remarkably consistent with the AG’s findings?  Is the AG’s report the full picture? Or is it an attempt to throw the dogs off the scent, so to speak?
    The governor, in a follow-up press briefing last Friday, downplayed the report’s significance, said only “partisan politics” is behind any criticism of the state’s handling of the COVID-19 response in nursing homes, that New York is no different than any other state (still even better than most states, according to him), that the federal government was negligent, and so on.
    The bottom line is that thanks to the AG’s report, we finally have a clear starting line. It is critical to know how many have died and where in order to better understand the why and how part of this tragedy that is going to help us put in place the policies that could prevent it from ever happening again.
    That’s the purpose of accountability and transparency: better and stronger responses for the future.
    This has been a tragedy and not just in New York State, we know that. The COVID-19 toll on the elderly, everywhere, is the great horror and the terrible sadness of this pandemic – which makes it all the more vital that we understand what has happened as fully as we possibly can, as straightforwardly as it takes, and with as much toughness as it demands.
    It has been terrible everywhere and that reality includes the fact that it has been horrific here in New York State – much worse than Governor Cuomo was touting for months on end, for still unknown reasons.
    The attorney general’s report does not mark the end of this inquiry.
    It marks an important beginning.
     
  11. Senator Tom O'Mara
    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 transformational in some long-overdue, positive sense, or will it end up compounding the crises that have long stood in the way of a true turnaround in this state?
    The Legislature’s fiscal committees -- Senate Finance, and Assembly Ways and Means -- once again take the lead this year in examining Governor Cuomo’s just-released budget plan. Beginning this week and continuing through February 23, committee members will hear testimony from state agency heads, local leaders, public interest groups, and other organizations and advocates to get a stronger sense, in detail, of how the executive’s proposed strategy would impact specific programs, services, communities, employers, not-for-profit service providers, economies, taxpayers and much more. 
    What we hear and what we learn over the course of these 13 public hearings sets the stage for final negotiations on a new state budget.
    Last week, after legislators first received Governor Cuomo’s roughly $193-billion spending plan, my first reaction was a warning – a warning that the governor is charting a course for New York that could leave a future generation of state and local taxpayers holding a hefty bill for a questionable agenda of overspending.
    For starters, to achieve his hoped-for budget this year Governor Cuomo counts on New York receiving $15 billion in federal funding in the next COVID-19 stimulus package. In what can only be called one of the most bizarre moves ever by any New York Stategovernor, Governor Cuomo plans to sue the federal government if he doesn’t get it.
    Nevertheless, if New York does receive a $15-billion federal bailout, this governor intends to just go ahead and spend it. Keep in mind that any federal funding will be a one-time, non-recurring infusion of cash. It will be here and gone back out the door as quick as the governor can sign the spending authorizations. Make no mistake, however, the spending done now on grand new programs or big new projects (mainly downstate-oriented in the governor’s plan, by the way) will incur costs that will remain as the responsibility of taxpayers long after this governor has left the scene.
    We are staring at another year of ignoring the fiscal warning signs and throwing caution to the wind at the worst possible time, instead of re-setting the unsustainable direction New York State keeps heading.
    Under Governor Cuomo’s plan as it stands, future New Yorkers could be left footing an outrageous bill for this governor’s and this Legislature’s overspending and overtaxing.   
    That’s my starting point.
    Details on the governor’s budget proposal are available on the state Division of the Budget (DOB) website, www.budget.ny.gov.
    The Legislature’s fiscal hearings start this week with specific examinations of the governor’s proposed plans for transportation, environmental conservation, elementary education and housing. The schedule of virtual hearings and live streams can be found at: https://www.nysenate.gov/events (video archives of all the hearings will also be located here). The hearings can also be viewed on the Legislative Cable Channel on most local cable systems (view the statewide channel listing here: https://www.nysenate.gov/about-legislative-cable-channel).
    As I stated at the start, this year’s legislative hearings are crucial. The next state budget could have a transformational impact on most of the key issues facing us. 
    In my new role as the top Republican member on the Finance Committee – where we face an uphill fight as a minority party in a state government firmly under one-party control at the moment – I’m hopeful to continue being a voice for lower taxes, less regulation, greater accountability, economic growth, job creation, and more common sense on state fiscal practices.
  12. Senator Tom O'Mara
    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 the essence of Memorial Day: To pause in our daily lives, in our own ways, in our own places, and to remember the American soldiers who now rest “in honored glory” in service to us, our families, our communities, state, and nation.
    The New York State Senate opens its daily legislative sessions by standing and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, which is then followed by an Invocation or a moment of silence. Several years ago, in late May 2016, Assemblyman Phil Palmesano and I invited the late Reverend Lewis Brown of Painted Post, who passed away last September, to join us at the Capitol to deliver the Opening Prayer in the Senate and Assembly. Some of you may recall Father Lew. He was the Chaplain of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in Elmira and a member of the Knights of Columbus. He served a number of parishes including, in his last assignment, All Saints Parish in Corning. Prior to all of that, however, he served 22 years of active duty as a United States Navy Chaplain in various capacities including with the Marines in Okinawa, Japan; as ship’s company aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz; and at the Washington Navy Yard inWashington, D.C., with duty at Arlington National Cemetery.
    Five years ago, Father Lew offered one of the most-well-received Invocations ever delivered in our Chamber. It was a “Prayer for the Military” – one so fitting as we prepared for Memorial Day that year – which included the inspiring words “to strengthen our conviction and give us the courage to be a home for the brave and a land for the free.”
    In fact, Father Lew received a standing ovation in the Senate that day following his invocation. I'd never witnessed a standing O for an invocation in the Senate prior or since, and many of my more senior colleagues at that time commented that they had never seen one either. It was truly an amazing prayer from a great American in memory of so many great Americans!
    Particularly memorable for me were those repeated words, conviction and courage. It is conviction and courage, after all, that has led and will always lead our soldiers into battle. And it is through our own personal conviction and courage, in our own ways and walks of life, through which we can best honor the sacrifices of our military men and women.    
    Toward that end, we continue to raise the American Flag.
    We proudly recognize New York State as the “Birthplace of Memorial Day,” which our nation has observed since the time of the Civil War
    Of course, we always turn enduring thoughts and prayers to the young soldiers, the heroes, who have been recently lost. We honor wounded warriors and we support the men and women serving in harm’s way at this very moment -- shining examples of bravery and eternal honor. 
    We salute all New York State veterans and the millions more across the nation. I have been privileged to pay tribute to the service of outstanding local veterans through the New York State Senate Veterans’ Hall of Fame, into which more than 400 veterans have been inducted since 2005. This includes the following area veterans that I have had the privilege to induct since 2011: Philip C. Smith of Schuyler County; J. Arthur “Archie” Kieffer, Chemung County; former Painted Post Mayor Roswell L. “Roz” Crozier, Jr.; Anthony J. “Tony” Specchio, Sr., Schuyler County; P. Earle Gleason, Yates County;  Warren A. Thompson, Steuben County; and Paul C. “Digger” Vendetti, Chemung County. The Senate’s online Veterans’ Hall of Fame can be viewed on my Senate website, www.omara.nysenate.gov.
    Because of our veterans, we can look into the eyes of the young people in our lives this Memorial Day, the faces of the future, and have faith that they, too, will be instilled with the spirit to keep America strong, to keep believing that the American way is a good, decent, worthwhile way.
    In the end, perhaps this is the greatest justice for all of the missions flown, the foxholes dug, the hills taken, and the battles fought on land and sea.
    America’s Armed Forces have made and will continue to make the ultimate sacrifice to keep America free, so that she can lead the way to a more free world. 
    The sacrifices of our military will keep alive America’s promise, so that people throughout the world will look to her for inspiration. 
    Our servicemen and servicewomen will keep America strong, so that other nations will draw courage from her strength.
    For as long as we remember and keep them alive in our hearts, we will stand as we do -- free in a land of opportunity and promise.
    The spirit of this salute will endure and remain strong for the future.
    God Bless America and God Bless our troops.
  13. Senator Tom O'Mara
    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 questions for Upstate New York energy consumers (that’s us ratepayers), businesses (particularly manufacturers), and communities who will be asked to bear a heavy burden for the cost of subsidizing New York City, downstate energy demands.  
    Governor Hochul took the reins of a Cuomo-generated renewable energy strategy already in motion and has now advanced specific projects to accomplish its far-reaching aim to extend the state’s energy grid through a significant expansion of wind, solar, and hydropower projects. 
    Overall, the goal remains to meet at least 70% of the state’s energy needs through renewable energy sources by 2030. 
    The statewide goal remains laudable, but utopian.  As a longtime member of the energy committees in both the Senate and Assembly, I have said and continue to fully agree that New YorkState should be leading the way in renewable energy development, and we are.  
    At the same time, I continue to stress that it needs to be done in ways that make sure that our residents and businesses have the energy they need right now to live and thrive in New York – and, I’ll add, that every step is taken to ensure that New York-based companies, entrepreneurs, generators and investors are always first in line when it comes to the jobs, revenues, and other economic development benefits being promised by the state’s leap into the so-called “green economy.” 
    Consequently, Governor Hochul’s announcement last week laid bare some troubling directions and a pipeline full of unanswered questions. 
    In unveiling the cornerstones of her plans, Governor Hochul said, “These transformative projects are a win-win – delivering thousands of new good-paying jobs throughout the state and attracting billions of dollars in private investment.  They also help us turn the page on New York City’s long-standing dependence on fossil fuels.” 
    It potentially could have been a “win-win” to write home about, except that Governor Hochul gave away one of these wins for New York State.  
    Exhibit A is one of the plan’s centerpiece proposals, the Canada-based Champlain Hudson Power Express. It calls for a nearly 340-mile span of buried cable, traversing land and water, to bring Canadian hydropower and wind from Hydro-Quebec to an energy station in Queens, New York City. 
    First and foremost, the plan fails to detail the costs of what can only be described as a massive and complex undertaking or, most importantly, the extent to which ratepayers throughout the state will be on the hook for covering these costs through higher utility bills.  
    Affordability seems to be a factor completely disregarded in Governor Hochul’s choice of these transmission projects. The other approved project, Clear Path, is to be built 174 miles “underground,” a requirement that will conservatively increase the cost by 10 to 20 times. 
    Equally puzzling, why is New York State gifting to Canada a marquee green-energy project that could help create thousands of good jobs and spark badly need economic development in numerous Upstate communities? Why forfeit this win? Trust me, there are plenty of New York State-based, private-sector generators more than eager for an opportunity like this one. 
    In fact, the proposed Champlain Hudson Power Express completely bypasses Upstate New York. There is not even an interconnecting Upstate converter station to allow Upstate power companies to tap into this supply, nor for Upstate electric generators to use this energy highway to get New York State-produced electric to the downstate markets in need of it. The lack of requiring an Upstate juncture perpetuates a bottleneck that has existed for far too long and places far too much reliance on foreign power. Furthermore, it fails to allow an alternative source of needed power in case of a potential drought in Canada eliminating this supply.    
    The Independent Power Producers of New York (IPPNY) reacted to this proposed outsourcing of jobs, exorbitant costs, and the bypassing of in-state generators in a statement. 
    IPPNY President and CEO Gavin J. Donohue said, “In addition to its hefty price tag, the Champlain Hudson line has long brought concerns of outsourcing New York jobs and lackluster emission reductions due to ‘greenwashing.’ While the State’s process will ultimately verify the source of the power on the line, giving this opportunity to a Canadian company rather thanNew York’s generators who have stepped up to the plate time and time again is wrong.”  
    Last week, Governor Hochul reinforced for all of us a vision for the future of energy in New York State that leaves plenty of us wondering about its practicality, cost, and fairness -- particularly for Upstate New York. 
    It’s a vision that we can never afford to have guided by political goals taking precedence over the best path to keeping the lights on for all New Yorkers in the most practical, cost-effective, smart, and fair way. 
  14. Senator Tom O'Mara
    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.” 
    Therein lies the essence of Memorial Day: To pause in our daily lives and remember the American soldiers who now rest “in honored glory” in devotion and service to all Americans — to our families, our friends and neighbors, our communities, state, and nation. 
    Many words have been shared on Memorial Day through the generations and what remains striking is how often these words are repeated: conviction and courage. It is conviction and courage, after all, that has led and will always lead our soldiers into battle. Therefore, it must be through our own personal conviction and courage, in our own ways and walks of life, through which we can best honor the sacrifices of our military men and women.     
    Toward that end, we continue to raise the American Flag. 
    We proudly recognize New York State as the “Birthplace of Memorial Day,” in Waterloo, Seneca County, which our nation has observed since the time of the Civil War. 
    Of course, we always turn enduring thoughts and prayers to the young soldiers, the heroes, who have been recently lost. We honor wounded warriors, and we support the men and women serving in harm’s way at this very moment — shining examples of bravery and eternal honor and, yes, courage and conviction.  

    We salute all New York State veterans and the millions more across the nation. I have been privileged to pay tribute to the service of outstanding local veterans through the New York State Senate Veterans’ Hall of Fame, into which more than 400 veterans have been inducted since 2005. This includes the following area veterans that I have had the privilege to induct since 2011: Philip C. Smith of Schuyler County; J. Arthur “Archie” Kieffer, Chemung County; former Painted Post Mayor Roswell L. “Roz” Crozier, Jr.; Anthony J. “Tony” Specchio, Sr., Schuyler County; P. Earle Gleason, Yates County;  Warren A. Thompson, Steuben County; Paul C. “Digger” Vendetti, Chemung County; and Richard T. “Dick” Gillespie, Yates County.  Very soon, we will be announcing this year’s inductees. 
    The Senate will conduct its 2022 virtual Veterans’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Monday to coincide with Memorial Day. This year, I am proud to induct Dennis L. “Denny” Wolfe, Sr. of Chemung County. Denny is a well-known area Vietnam War veteran, and the founder and director of the Vietnam War Museum in Elmira. We take this opportunity to salute the lives of veterans who have made such a difference for our local communities, our state, and the United States of America. Denny Wolfe courageously served our nation in Vietnam and then returned home where he has devoted his life to tirelessly working to honor and assist his fellow veterans and strengthen our community. 
    The Senate’s virtual Veterans’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony can be viewed on my Senate website, www.omara.nysenate.gov. 
    Several years ago, asked about the importance of Memorial Day, the director of both the Woodlawn and Bath National Cemeteries, Duane Mendenhall, shared this reflection, “Every single freedom and liberty we enjoy can be traced back to a battlefield…How can words suffice to honor our fallen veterans? We honor them by remembering they loved America. Most of all they valued life by bravely readying themselves to die in service of this country.” 
    Because of our veterans, we can look into the eyes of the young people in our lives this Memorial Day, the faces of the future, and have faith that they, too, will be instilled with the spirit to keep America strong, to keep believing that the American way is a good, decent, worthwhile way. 
    In the end, perhaps this is the greatest justice for all of the missions flown, the foxholes dug, the hills taken, and the battles fought on land and sea. 
    America’s Armed Forces have made and will continue to make the ultimate sacrifice to keep America free, so that she can lead the way to a freer world.  
    The sacrifices of our military will keep alive America’s promise, so that people throughout the world will look to her for inspiration.  
    Our servicemen and servicewomen will keep America strong, so that other nations will draw courage from her strength. 
    For as long as we remember and keep them alive in our hearts, we will stand as we do — free in a land of opportunity and promise. 
    The spirit of this salute will endure and remain strong for the future. 
    God Bless America and God Bless our troops. 
  15. Senator Tom O'Mara
    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 survival amidst numerous criminal and ethical investigations and scandals: first-in-the-nation rhetoric; establishing an expensive state bureaucracy; another task force; a new advisory council.    
    It represents the latest Cuomo grandstanding. But it goes far beyond grandstanding and power grabbing because it perpetuates what’s become a dangerous era in New York government since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
    Governor Cuomo is making it clear where New York State is headed under his continued reign should he win a fourth consecutive term in office in November 2022 – from one emergency disaster declaration to the next so that he and he alone can continue to govern by issuing executive orders, controlling public policy, infringing on constitutional rights and individual liberties, dictating the allocation of taxpayer dollars, and running this entire state out of his office.  
    That is what we faced for the 15-plus months this governor ran the show under the COVID-19 emergency declaration. From March 2020, when Cuomo was first granted the emergency authorization, to June 23, 2021 when the COVID-19 emergency declaration was called off, the governor’s nearly 100 Executive Orders allowed him to unilaterally change hundreds of state laws, as well as implement rules and regulations and make spending decisions, without legislative approval.
    We saw the failures of state government by Cuomo executive order throughout the COVID-19 crisis – a nursing home tragedy, shuttered small businesses, out-of-work citizens, and last but far from least, rising crime and violence.
    Our local Upstate communities, economies, workers, and taxpayers will be paying the price for years to come. Too many will never recover.  
    Now this governor can’t bear to think of governing in any other way. He can’t live without the unilateral power so he immediately issues a new emergency and a new round of executive orders that allow him to, for starters, allocate nearly $140 million where and how he, and he alone, sees fit – no legislative approval, no local decision-making required. He’s creating a new State Office of Gun Violence Prevention and we know that new state bureaucracies always demand more and more resources. He’s putting new mandates on police departments.
    Believe me, it’s just the beginning.
    “Just like we did with COVID,” Governor Cuomo proclaimed last week, “New York is going to lead the nation once again with a comprehensive approach to combating and preventing gun violence, and our first step is acknowledging the problem with a first-in-the-nation emergency on gun violence.”
    “Just like we did with COVID” conjures up plenty of nightmares. Just like we did with COVID in nursing homes? Just like we did with COVID devastating local economies and small businesses? Just like we did with COVID silencing local decision-making? 
    “Just like we did with COVID” failed this state in many, many ways. Let’s not forget. We haven’t yet tallied the true cost.
    Now here we go again with more state government by Cuomo executive order?
    The most serious state of emergency in New York is Governor Cuomo’s ongoing abuses of power for political and personal gain. 
    It doesn’t take another Cuomo state of emergency, another Cuomo executive order to recognize that rising crime and violence, and weakened public safety and security, is the result of the pro-criminal policies and philosophies being enacted and pushed by this governor and a State Legislature under one-party control.  
    Emergency executive action should not be based upon a self-created circumstance resulting from the three-year effort by this Governor and the Democrat-controlled legislative majorities to coddle criminals and reduce criminal sanctions. 
    Let’s start there.
    They have emboldened the criminal element throughout this state through failed bail reform, lenient parole policies, an out-of-control Parole Board, a growing ‘defund the police’ movement, and an overall careless approach to criminal justice. 
    No state of emergency declaration changes that reality.
  16. Senator Tom O'Mara
    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 the governor’s top aides, Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa, admitting that the administration intentionally withheld a true accounting of the COVID-19 death toll in New York’s nursing homes for months on end in an effort to steer clear of federal prosecutors.
    “We were in a position,” DeRosa said, “where we weren’t sure if what we were going to give to the Department of Justice…was going to be used against us.”
    Among other numerous, incriminating statements, DeRosa tells key Democratic lawmakers, including those who chair the committees directly responsible for overseeing nursing homes, that “I do understand the position (legislative Democrats) were put in…It was not our intention to put you in that political position with the Republicans.”
    In other words, the Cuomo administration finally apologized, but not for the horrific loss of life. Not for the pain of the families who lost loved ones. Not for deliberately misleading the public at large.
    Only for putting Democratic allies in a “political position” with me and my Senate and Assembly GOP colleagues who have been fighting to uncover the truth.
    Remarkable – and very possibly criminal.
    This secret meeting was nothing more than a desperate attempt by Governor Cuomo’s inner circle to circle the wagons with legislative allies, get everybody on the same page, make sure that they all stick to the same script. And many did stick to it coming out of the meeting. Top Senate Democrats even went as far as to release a statement calling the meeting “productive” while charging that Republicans were being “shamefully” political. Sadly, they never mentioned that the Cuomo administration admitted what many of us have been seeking to expose for months now – a massive and unconscionable cover-up of New York’s COVID-19 nursing home and long-term care facility scandal.
    The very next day, they were exposed by the Post’s reporting. Now they are all complicit.
    It demands an immediate, full investigation at every level – criminal and otherwise – because the longer this drip, drip, drip of scandal goes on, the more it erodes New Yorkers’ trust of government. In the end, that’s one of the great dangers here.
    So our ongoing pursuit of the truth remains twofold:
    Justice for the families and loved ones of the more than 15,000 elderly New Yorkers we’ve lost to this pandemic – including steps to try to ensure that it will not ever again happen to other families. Accountability for those responsible. Since the January 28th report from state Attorney General Letitia James that revealed significant under-reporting by the Cuomo administration, we have been pushing for subpoenas to compel testimony and obtain all records related to the crisis. These efforts intensify now and include New York’s GOP Congressional delegation calling for a federal investigation.
    Equally important, the AG report targeted Governor Cuomo’s now fateful March 25, 2020 order forcing nursing homes to accept COVID-positive patients – more than 9,000 by the time his order was rescinded, according to recent reporting by the Associated Press. Furthermore, the order prevented homes from testing for COVID as a condition of admittance. The very next day, on March 26th, the American Medical Directors Association, Society for Long Term Care Medicine objected to Cuomo’s order declaring that it was “over-reaching, not consistent with science, unenforceable, and beyond all, not in the least consistent with patient safety principles.”
    The devastating impact of the March 25th Cuomo executive order must be fully exposed and examined – and that will require full records of what transpired within the administration in those earliest months and afterwards.
    The New York Post story exposing the collaboration between the Cuomo inner circle and top legislative Democrats makes it clear that full investigations must be started immediately.
    We should not be finding out the truth of this tragedy through leaks of secret Democrat-only meetings. 
     
    All of this needs to be aired, fully and forthrightly, in public.
     
    In the meantime, hats off to all of the reporters keeping their notebooks out.
     
  17. Senator Tom O'Mara
    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 move strongly opposed by farmers and many legislators, including me. 
    The final decision then falls to Governor Kathy Hochul and state Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon, a holdover from the prior Cuomo administration, who will have 45 days to review the Farm Wage Board’s final report before acting.  
    In other words, the future of farming in New York State hangs in the balance thanks to a law enacted in 2019 that was pushed by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo as a cornerstone of his so-called “progressive” remake of New York government. 
    Throughout the year prior to the enactment of the Act, I joined many opponents, including the New York Farm Bureau, to warn about its consequences. We feared that mandatory overtime pay and other provisions of the law, especially the creation of a three-member Wage Board granted the authority to unilaterally change the law’s provisions, without legislative approval, could worsen the impact of farm labor costs on farm income at a time when the farm economy is already struggling. 
    It has been reported that farm labor costs in New York State increased 40 percent over the past decade and that the 2019 measure could result in another crippling 44-percent increase in wage expenses. Total farm labor costs are at least 63 percent of net cash farm income in New York, compared to 36 percent nationally. 
    I debated and voted against this move when the Senate approved it in June 2019. 
    The bottom line is that this misguided action by a state government triumvirate of leaders under one-party, downstate-based control -- guided on many current issues by a far-left, extreme-liberal governing philosophy -- has profound implications throughout local farm economies across rural, upstate New York, including driving more family farms out of business. 
    And that was the case even before COVID-19, which we now know has taken its own toll on our farmers and the entire agricultural industry. 
    Sadly, we are seeing the worst consequences of this law playing out as we feared. Earlier this year, in the face of an outcry of public testimony and opposition from agricultural leaders and others, the Wage Board recommended paving the way for lowering the current 60-hour threshold requiring farmers to pay their employees overtime. 
    It’s clear that this was a preordained decision. Last January, hours of testimony from farmers, farm workers, farm advocates, agricultural representatives, community leaders, and many state legislators, including me, were still echoing across this state in near-unanimous opposition to lowering the overtime threshold, and the Wage Board took no time at all before coming out with a disastrous recommendation to lower the overtime threshold to 40 hours. 
     It was a charade all along. I and many others warned that this is where the Wage Board was headed from day one. It was put in place only to keep paving the way for the far-left so-called progressive political agenda that dominates Albany Democrat decision-making. It had no meaningful or sincere concern for the future of family farms and agriculture in New York State. 
    The Board heard from countless individual farmers and the leaders of local farm communities. It heard from the industry’s top advocates, including the New York Farm Bureau, the Northeast Dairy Producers Association, Grow NY Farms, and numerous others. It heard from local, federal, and state representatives, like me, who fear the undermining and ongoing collapse of an industry and, equally important, a way of life that has defined the regions we represent for generations. 
    The Board ignored us all. They ignored common sense and caution in favor of continuing this relentless pursuit of an extreme political agenda and philosophy that will drive this state over the edge of a fiscal and economic cliff. 
    In fact, Governor Hochul herself has signaled all along that she would be walking hand in hand with the Wage Board decision. The state budget approved back in April included a tax credit for overtime costs. In late July, the governor said that if the state moves forward with forcing farmers to pay overtime to workers after 40 hours, the state will pick up the extra costs. 
    “If this happens over a long rollout time, the state of New York will pick up the additional overtime costs,” Hochul said.  
    In other words, state taxpayers will subsidize the move, indefinitely, to the tune of at least $130 million annually. Setting aside the fact that many farmers question whether the tax credit will even cover all their higher labor costs, we also know by now that promised government subsidies aren’t always what they’re cracked up to be.  
    Even more to the point, why should New York’s taxpayers foot yet another multi-million-dollar bill, for who knows how long, for yet another, so-called “progressive” action?  
    Governor Hochul has clearly been determined, from the start, to finish what former Governor Cuomo set in motion. 
    If left to stand, it will change the face of New York State agriculture as we have known it for generations. 
    Cornell University issued a report last November detailing the potential and very troubling consequences, including that: 
    Two-thirds of the dairy farms interviewed by Cornell researchers indicated they would move out of milk production;  One out of every 4 fruit or vegetable farm will relocate their operation outside of the state;  Seventy percent of H-2A workers said they would consider going to another state without capped hours if the state moves to a 40-hour overtime threshold.  It will produce a nightmare of a ripple effect across local communities and economies in every region of this state – but especially upstate in regions like I represent throughout the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes.  
    It will diminish the future of high quality, local food production, as well as spark the loss of family farms and the loss of the livelihoods these farms support across the industry and throughout hundreds of local economies. 
    And, now, taxpayers will be forced to foot yet another bill from a state that is already one of the highest-taxed in America. Requiring New York families to pay more to subsidize immigrant farm workers’ wages so they can send more money to their families in Central America will not move New York State forward. If conditions are so bad here, why is our southern border swarmed with hundreds of thousands of immigrants walking 1,000+ miles to be here? 
    It’s shaping up to be yet another economic disaster for New York’s farmers and farmworkers – and another fiscal burden for taxpayers. 
    This is the worst possible time to risk mandating and regulating more farms out of business, and that is exactly where Governor Hochul is headed. 
  18. Senator Tom O'Mara
    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 final word.  
    It didn’t take long to get our answer. The governor herself didn’t do the dirty work, of course. She turned that over to state Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon, a holdover from the former Cuomo administration, who late on the afternoon of Friday, October 1, sent down the Hochul administration’s decision to lower the threshold to 40. 
    But this is all on Governor Hochul now, be clear on that, it is her decision and the consequences of moving forward with it will always be pinned to her. 
     Remember that it was on September 6 that the three-member Wage Board finalized its recommendation, by a vote of 2-1, to lower the threshold. The lone vote in opposition came from Board member David Fisher, President of the New York Farm Bureau, who said that “the deck was stacked” against the farm community from the outset of this process and that the board’s final report “does not reflect the data, research and scope of the full testimony that was provided” in opposition. 
    In other words, Governor Hochul and Commissioner Reardon can claim all they want that the Wage Board report was factual, and that careful consideration was given to the hundreds of hours of testimony from farmers, farm workers, industry leaders and advocates, and concerned citizens, as well as local, state, and federal representatives, including me, who overwhelmingly sought to deliver one message to Governor Hochul: Stay At 60. 
    We urged her to listen to common sense. 
    We called on her to listen to the warnings. 
     We urged her to at least delay any final decision until the next United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Census is released in 2024 when more up-to-date and extensive data will be available to assess the state of the agricultural industry, including the economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic. 
    We provided facts from the front lines. 
    For example, Cornell University experts issued a report last November detailing the potential and very troubling consequences of lowering the threshold to 40 hours, including that: 
    Two-thirds of the dairy farms they interviewed indicated they would move out of milk production;  One of every four fruit or vegetable farm will relocate their operation outside of the state;  Seventy percent of H-2A workers said they would consider going to another state without capped hours if the state moves to a 40-hour overtime threshold.  Around the same time that Cornell released its findings, Farm Credit East estimated dire economic impacts to farms from lowering the threshold to 40 hours. This report showed that lowering the threshold “could have a significant economic impact on New York’s farms, and that taken together with the scheduled increases in minimum wage, is estimated to increase labor expenses $264 million, or 42%, causing a reduction in farm income of 20%.” 
    Many already hard-pressed family farms simply will not survive such a devastating reduction in farm income.  
    In the end, the suspicions that many of us had from the beginning – when former Governor Cuomo went all-in on getting behind what was a top priority for New York’s far-left, city-based, extreme-liberal faction of the Democrat party – that the fix was in, proved to be correct.  
    Keep in mind that the “Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act” was, in fact, conjured up by socialist leaning Democrat legislators from Queens, New York City.To try to provide themselves political cover, ex-Governor Cuomo and the state’s all-Democrat legislative majorities created an unelected, unaccountable Wage Board -- authorized to take unilateral action without the need for legislative approval – and ensured that there would always be two votes on the three-member board in favor of lowering the threshold. 
    Cuomo resigned in disgrace, however Governor Hochul quickly signaled her determination to walk hand in hand with the Wage Board and finish what Cuomo and the New York City socialist legislators from Queens started.  
    In late July, she went as far as to state that if New York moves forward with forcing farmers to pay overtime after 40 hours, state taxpayers will pick up the tab and subsidize the move, indefinitely, to the tune of at least $130 million annually – even though many farmers question whether the tax credit will even begin cover their higher labor costs or offset the anticipated consequences.  
    In other words, New York State's hardworking families and taxpayers will foot the bill to pay seasonal migrant farmworkers more to send home to their families in Central and South America. 
    Governor Hochul and her Cuomo-appointed labor commissioner had the opportunity to choose the future of farming over the so-called “progressive” ideology that is driving this state into the ground.  
    Instead, they rejected farmers, farm workers, farm advocates, agricultural representatives, community leaders, and legislators who spoke in near-unanimous opposition to this move.  
    They rejected the industry’s top advocates, including the New York Farm Bureau, the Northeast Dairy Producers Association, Grow NY Farms, Upstate United, and numerous others.  
    They decided to go ahead and carelessly risk undermining an industry and a way of life that has defined the regions we represent, as well as the face of New York State agriculture as we have known it for generations.  
    They will jeopardize the future of high quality, local food production.  
    They will shamelessly require state and local taxpayers to pay for yet another bad decision out of Albany. 
    They are fine with setting in motion the loss of more family farms and the livelihoods these farms support across the industry and throughout hundreds of local economies.  
    At the worst possible time, Governor Hochul is mandating an even more uncertain future for family farmers, farm workers, farm communities, and New York’s agricultural industry overall.  
    Following the final announcement that New York will reject the concerns and fears of the agricultural community and lower the threshold to 40, Farm Bureau President Fischer stated, “This is a difficult day for all those who care about New York being able to feed itself. Commissioner Reardon’s decision to lower the farm labor overtime threshold will make it even tougher to farm in this state and will be a financial blow to the workers we all support. Moving forward, farms will be forced to make difficult decisions on what they grow, the available hours they can provide to their employees, and their ability to compete in the marketplace. All of this was highlighted in the testimony and data that the wage board report and the commissioner simply ignored.” 
    The Farm Bureau gets right to the heart of it: Governor Hochul has “simply ignored” New York agriculture. 
     
  19. Senator Tom O'Mara
    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 making. 
    We took to calling it “government by Cuomo executive order.” While it began at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when we were largely facing the complete unknown, the former governor quickly recognized that the Legislature’s Democrat majorities were happy to let him get away with a massive abuse of executive authority. It would end up causing a great deal of harm to local communities, economies, and taxpayers – damage that we’ll be trying to fix it for years to come.   
    Now that we’ve turned the page to a new governor, it’s become fair to ask: Have we turned the page to a new governor? 
    Consider just a few of the actions taken by new Governor Kathy Hochul recently, including: 
    Expanding the state’s mask mandate to cover day care centers and to apply to children as young as two years old.   A controversial blanket mandate requiring all health and home care workers to be vaccinated, which threatens to exacerbate New York's preexisting healthcare worker shortage. Thousands of these workers are tenuously hanging on under religious exemptions which are pending Court action. 
    Then there’s Governor Hochul’s ongoing implementation, by executive action, of a new law known as the “Less Is More Act” act whereby hundreds of state inmates being held for so-called “technical” parole violations are being released statewide. The new law doesn’t take effect until next March, however Governor Hochul is moving ahead on her own authority to immediately release inmates, including violent criminals. 

     I voted against and strongly opposed the Less Is More legislation (S1144/A5576) when it was first approved by the Senate in early June. It continues a troubling overhaul of the state’s parole system that started under former Governor Cuomo and the Democrat supermajorities in the state Senate and Assembly. 

    It’s the latest in a long string of pro-criminal, anti-police, anti-victim actions that make this state less safe – and it’s being denounced, rightly so, by law enforcement and crime victims advocates. 

    The executive director of the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police reacted to Less Is More this way, “At some point, common sense has to enter into the equation. Elected officials continue to politicize public safety and gamble with people’s lives.” 

     Well said. There’s no common sense coming out of Albany. There’s hasn’t been for some time with state government under one-party control. On this criminal justice front, that’s exactly right, they are putting far-left politics over public safety, and they are gambling with lives. 

    In other words, Governor Hochul is falling in line with the continuation of what has been disastrous, dangerous, radical parole reform driven by pro-criminal, anti-police, so-called progressive Albany Democrats. Actions like encouraging parole leniency combined with other moves to radically redefine criminal justice in New York -- including a 2020 law eliminating cash bail and pretrial detention, ongoing prison closures, and a growing “defund the police” movement throughout New York government – have helped drive a pro-criminal agenda that has been a major contributor to making the state less safe, putting far too many law enforcement officers in harm’s way, ignoring victims, and emboldening society’s criminal element. 

    Violent crimes in numerous cities across New York have jumped over the past few years. The homicide rate in the city of Syracuse, for example, increased by 55% between 2019 and 2020, while aggravated assaults were up 15%.  According to reports, violent crime has surged in the city of Rochester.  And in New York City, according to recent statistics from the NYPD, overall index crime rose by more than 30% since April 2020, including a nearly 20% jump in murders and a 35.6% increase in felony assaults. 

    All in all, it appears that Governor Hochul learned well from former Governor Cuomo. She’s not hesitating to push the boundaries of executive authority and power at the clear risk of New York State spiraling out of control in dangerous directions. 
  20. Senator Tom O'Mara
    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, and, of course, at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City.
    To find out and view more, you can visit the 9/11 Memorial & Museum website (911memorial.org), where this fitting summation can also be found, “Despite our shared grief in the aftermath of 9/11, hope, resilience, and unity lifted us up as a nation. Twenty years later, these lessons are more important than ever. Today, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum stands as a beacon of healing and renewal – a physical embodiment of the compassion we showed to one another, the resolve we demonstrated to the world, and how, in the face of unfathomable loss, we rose as one. During this 20th anniversary year, we will share the history and lessons learned with a new generation, teach them about the ongoing repercussions of the 9/11 attacks, and inspire the world with memories of our fortitude, strength, and resilience.”
    From east to west, from north to south, Americans will undertake their responsibility and duty as citizens to remember September 11, 2001 at the memorials that dot this great land of ours -- like we have since that day, and like we always must.
    For this generation, to this very moment, September 11th evokes such a difficult mix and range of emotions, yet one of the most powerful reminders of all is this one: we are Americans and above all else, in the toughest of times, we will ultimately stand together in aid, in comfort, and in determination.
    So we honor the memory of 9/11's victims and continue to keep their families in our prayers.
    We pay tribute, again, to the heroic bravery, courage, and selflessness of the rescue and recovery workers – the firefighters and police officers, every first responder and every citizen who gave their lives, and those who spent week after week after week at Ground Zero in homage to the ultimate sacrifice of their fellow men and women.
    We reaffirm our pride in this nation’s servicemen and servicewomen, and we keep all of them and their families in our thoughts and prayers – including those young men and women whom we’ve lost from here at home, and their families, friends, and loved ones. As events continue to unfold across the world, our veterans and their families must know that as a nation, we value, we respect, and we honor their remarkable service and sacrifice.
    Every day they remind us that America’s fundamental values cannot be overcome, and we thank them.
    We know that too many of America’s veterans are struggling today, in crisis, and, tragically, too many of these heroes are taking their own lives. We need every veteran to know and to believe that they are never alone. The nation’s Veterans Crisis Line is available around the clock to connect with caring and qualified responders with the Department of Veterans Affairs, many of whom are veterans themselves. The Veterans Crisis Line can be reached by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255). 
    On this 20th Anniversary, I also join in recalling how so many emergency services volunteers, not-for-profit organizations, school classrooms, business leaders, and individual citizens and communities from across the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions responded in such strong, uplifting ways in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
    I’m grateful each and every year on this anniversary for the opportunity to remember how so many citizens, young and old, from all walks of life and all stations, responded with a powerful, enduring determination to help America recover and rebuild – and how, to this very day, this memory can serve to remind us that even in the darkest of days, Americans face a future of hope, that the fundamental American values of decency, fortitude, generosity, and strength will help us carry on and keep this region, this state, and our nation strong.
  21. Senator Tom O'Mara
    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 mandatory overtime pay threshold for farm workers from the current 60 hours to 40 hours.
    For months on end, we urged Governor Hochul to listen to common sense. We called on her to heed the warnings. We asked her to carefully consider the hundreds of hours of testimony from farmers, farm workers, industry advocates, and concerned citizens, as well as local, state, and federal representatives, including me, who overwhelmingly sought to deliver one message: Stay At 60.
    We provided facts from the front lines. For example, Cornell University experts issued a report last November detailing the potential and very troubling consequences of lowering the threshold to 40 hours, including that two-thirds of the dairy farms they interviewed indicated they would move out of milk production, and one of every four fruit or vegetable farm will relocate their operation outside of the state.
    Around the same time that Cornell released its findings, Farm Credit East estimated dire economic impacts to farms from lowering the threshold to 40 hours. This report showed that lowering the threshold “could have a significant economic impact on New York’s farms, and that taken together with the scheduled increases in minimum wage, is estimated to increase labor expenses $264 million, or 42%, causing a reduction in farm income of 20%.”
    It didn’t matter in the end. The fix was in.
    Now, with the ink barely dry on that fateful decision, farmers are already facing the next so-called “progressive” move on the agenda. Governor Hochul and the state’s Democrat legislative leaders are looking to immediately make New York State’s minimum wage the highest in the nation at $21.25 while also indexing the minimum wage to inflation to allow for annual cost-of-living adjustments.
    In a recent letter to the governor and legislative leaders, Grow NY Farms, a leading farm advocacy organization comprised of the New York Farm Bureau, the Northeast Dairy Producers Association, and others, wrote, “The fact remains that an increased minimum wage disproportionately impacts small business, including family farms and smaller wood manufacturers, and the supply chain. We believe that New York State should pause any plans for a minimum wage increase to allow farms and small businesses to catch their financial breath, assess economic impacts and plan for the future.”
    Remember that New York approved a phased-in minimum wage increase in 2016 that has already had a negative impact on the state’s farmers, manufacturers, and small businesses. Apparently, it doesn’t go high enough, fast enough for the progressive mindset currently controlling New York government.
    Far from being a progressive mindset, it’s instead a forget-the-consequences approach to governing that is driving this state into the ground.
    New York Farm Bureau President David Fischer recently said, “If (the minimum wage) is increased, the alternatives for farms will be to find ways to cut employee hours, move away from labor intensive crops or simply close up shop, something more than 2,000 farms have done since lawmakers passed the last wage hike. Let’s push pause on higher mandated labor costs, giving small businesses the time to catch up to the high inflation and protecting our local food system from further demise.”
    Once again, words of responsible caution and common sense from those on the front lines.
    Will Albany Democrats listen this time? Or will they once again carelessly ignore the warnings and keep delivering an even more uncertain future?
  22. Senator Tom O'Mara
    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” direction. 
    On so many critical challenges, it’s a far-left, progressive free-for-all. Or, depending on your point of view, it’s a progressive free fall resulting in this state’s decline.  
    Pay attention. 
    Upstate United led off one recent news release this way, “With progressive legislators in the Capitol pushing bills that will drastically hike the state’s minimum wage and lead to significant job losses, reduced worker hours, income reductions, and closures across New York, business groups gathered in the Capitol this afternoon to urge caution and common sense.” 
    Caution and common sense out of Albany? That’s about as far as you can get from accurately defining New York government under one-party, all-Democrat control. 
    Let’s stay focused on this extreme push for a higher minimum wage, keeping in mind that New York’s minimum wage has been steadily rising since 2016. It’s not on a fast-enough track for some progressive legislators, who would immediately jack it up to $20 per hour (and even higher in some parts of the state). 
    The consequences? According to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), raising the minimum wage this way would lead to at least 128,000 lost jobs over the coming decade, with 65% of the losses suffered by small businesses. The lost economic output for small businesses alone would approach $12 billion. We know what a hard hit that would be for small, rural communities throughout the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions, and across Upstate where small businesses are already struggling to remain the backbone of local economies.  
    The future for manufacturing workers? One recent report revealed that since 2016, when the state began implementing its current minimum wage escalation, nearly 40% of manufacturers have increased automation at their factories. In other words, fewer jobs and less weekly hours for the manufacturing workforce. 
    Keep in mind also, as Upstate United highlights, this “ill-advised legislative drive comes on the heels of New York’s complete failure to restore the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Trust Fund, which was depleted by the COVID pandemic and state-mandated business shutdowns and restrictions.” 
    The consequences for family farmers and the agricultural industry as a whole? Let’s not forget that this push for a higher minimum wage arrives on the heels of the Hochul administration giving the go-ahead to reducing the threshold for farmworker overtime pay from 60 to 40 hours – a move that already puts at risk the future of many family farms. What would be the result of piling a 40% increase in the minimum wage on top of that misguided move? 
    New York Farm Bureau President David Fisher states, “If it is increased, the alternatives for farms will be to find ways to cut employee hours, move away from labor intensive crops or simply close up shop, something more than 2,000 farms have done since lawmakers passed the last wage hike. Let’s push pause on higher mandated labor costs, giving small businesses the time to catch up to the high inflation and protecting our local food system from further demise.” 
    According to the Grow NY Farms Coalition, “Any increase in farm wages will cripple our rural communities and put the security of our state’s food supply and the economic viability of the entire agriculture industry at risk. With inflation and farm inputs still on the rise, now is not the time to double down and increase costs further. We urge our state leaders to consider the current economic landscape and uniqueness of critical industries like agriculture before making rushed decisions.” 
    Those are words of common sense, however, as I noted above, caution and common sense are given no heed whatsoever in the out of control, “progressive” free fall driving this state down. 
     
  23. Senator Tom O'Mara
    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. Teachers are ready. Most importantly, students and their families are ready.
    All that is left standing in the way is for Governor Cuomo and the state Department of Health to give the go-ahead, reissue the guidance and protocols that most accurately reflect current COVID-19 conditions, and, finally, authorize the necessary local flexibility that will allow district administrators and their school communities to accomplish a complete return to the classroom effectively, efficiently, safely, and successfully.
    Recently, we have joined school superintendents from throughout the region urging the Cuomo administration to do just that. Superintendents rightly note that while some, mostly smaller districts have been able to fully resume daily, in-person learning, most districts, especially larger ones, cannot do the same for their students and families because New York’s current Executive Order requiring a minimum distance of 6 feet between students in classrooms prevents it.
    Until New York State revises this mandate and reduces the distancing requirement from 6 feet to 3 feet – a move now supported by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), many physicians and public health experts, as well as scientific studies and data -- students in too many districts will remain shut out from returning to their classrooms full time.
    On March 17th, 23 regional school superintendents representing the Greater Southern Tier BOCES expressed their collective support for the move from 6 to 3 feet distancing in a letter to Governor Cuomo. They wrote, in part, “It is our sincere hope that you and the Department of Health will consider a more equitable approach in adjusting the density requirements that are prohibiting full in-person daily learning from occurring.  Our students need more connection, instruction, and interaction.  Our school communities need to see that there is light at the end of this pandemic tunnel.”
    On March 19th, the CDC, acknowledging a growing body of public health data surveying the experience of school systems over the past year of the COVID-19 pandemic, revised its guidelines to permit 3-foot distancing in school classrooms. The new CDC guidelines also include reduced distancing guidelines for performing arts education participants, from 12- to 6-feet apart, a move that we as legislators had also called for in a February 19th letter to Governor Cuomo. Adopting this new distancing guideline would allow for more students to participate in the performing arts.
    Consequently, we are calling on Governor Cuomo to immediately move forward to allow the requested change in state regulations. On February 25, during a joint Senate-Assembly public hearing, New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker stated that guidance for reopening schools would be forthcoming as early as the week following the hearing. It’s now more than one month later and there is still no revised guidance or clarity on one of most important post-COVID actions that New York State must engage. 
    This ongoing delay and uncertainty is unacceptable. It is time for the Cuomo administration to move this priority to the top of the list. It is time to fully acknowledge just how central and how critical this action is to the educational development and mental health of our students.
    In short, if New York State provides the necessary flexibility, area superintendents are confident they are in a position to immediately reopen, fully and safely.
    We are proud to highlight the success of the regional COVID-19 response. We praise the work of local officials and the ongoing cooperation of local citizens and communities to follow the safety guidelines recommended for stopping the spread of the coronavirus and demonstrating the feasibility of safe reopening. The  knowledge and experience gained over the past year leave all of us confident about implementing full and safe school reopenings – if, we stress again, the state releases the necessary protocols and gives districts ample flexibility to thoroughly prepare their facilities and staff.
    Our local county leaders, health professionals, educators, teachers and communities have demonstrated enormous dedication, discipline, and responsibility throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.  Our communities’ leaders have demonstrated they can be trusted with a careful and thorough reopening of schools that is focused on safety, first and foremost.  No one cares more about the health and well-being of our students, families and school communities.  What has been accomplished by administrators, teachers and parents to help students throughout this public health crisis has been remarkable. These year-long efforts, we believe, have earned the right to local decision making to now determine the long-term health and well-being of our young people and their families.
    Nothing can replace our children being in school.  It’s central to quality education, our ongoing economic recovery, and the strength of our social fabric. 
    Governor Cuomo needs to release the revised guidelines so that all school administrators have the ability to implement a safe, full-time reopening of our schools. He should no longer leave administrators, staff, teachers and, especially, students and their parents waiting. 
  24. Senator Tom O'Mara
    Numbers help tell every story. 
    For example, many studies have helped make the case that children who read during the summer months make greater academic gains in the following school year than children who do not.  
    In fact, statistics on the “summer slide” jump right off the page, including that: 
    Students can lose up to 25 percent of their reading level over the summer; 
    Children who don’t engage in summer reading lose approximately two months of instructional time, or roughly 22% of the school year; and 
    By the end of the sixth grade, children who lose reading skills during the summer are, on average, two years behind their peers. 
    While numbers alone help tell the larger story, words themselves deliver the most impactful testimony of all. 
    Scholastic’s “Kids & Family Reading Report” has become one of the gold standards of advocacy and research on the importance of summer reading.  
    The organization’s Chief Academic Officer, Michael Haggen, has said, “Parents, grandparents, older siblings, teachers, principals—everyone in a child’s life—can be a reading role model. It’s up to us all to provide the opportunity for choice, be readers ourselves, ask and answer questions about what a child is reading, read aloud together (regardless of age!), and more. When a child knows that the people surrounding them value reading, we will have a greater culture of literacy in our homes and in our schools.” 
    The bottom line is that summer reading is a lifeline for children.  
    Consequently, I am grateful this summer to join with the New York State Library and public libraries statewide, including so many throughout the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions, on “Summer Reading at New York Libraries” initiatives. 

    Scholastic itself also offers a summer reading program that you can find out more about at: www.scholastic.com/summer. 
    For my part, I’m proud to share the Senate’s online summer reading program. To participate, students and parents can visit my Senate website, www.omara.nysenate.gov, and click on the “Summer Reading Program” logo on the home page. 
    At its most fundamental level, summarizing the range of research on the importance of summer reading for students is straightforward: it is all about getting books into the hands of kids. 
    According to Scholastic, a few of the keys to successful summer reading are letting young readers choose the books they want to read (91% of children say they are more likely to finish a book if they have picked it out themselves), encouraging kids to read four or more books and, most importantly, providing easy access to books. 
    The underlying importance of access points directly to the critical role our public libraries play to encourage students and their families to read. 
    Libraries are the gateway for making books and other reading materials and programs available throughout our communities. Our region is incredibly fortunate to have an outstanding network of public libraries providing access to books and other reading activities, materials, and opportunities. 
    Of course, our local libraries sponsor a variety of summer reading activities and events. Visit the website of the Southern Tier Library System, www.stls.org, for links to member libraries in Allegany, Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben and Yates counties. The members of the Finger Lakes Library System, including Seneca, Tioga and Tompkins counties, are online at www.fls.org. 
    Over two million young people statewide have participated in its summer reading program annually, according to the New York State Library. More information on “Summer Reading at New York Libraries” is online at www.nysl.nysed.gov. 
    There are plenty of ways to help children get summer off to a great start and then to keep making the season meaningful and memorable. 
    A reading list is one of the best ways of all. 
  25. Senator Tom O'Mara
    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, almost embarrassingly allowed Governor Andrew Cuomo to run this government purely by executive order, has raised so many red flags.
    We’ve been reading and hearing about the obvious areas of concern, but let’s not let anything else go unchecked under the radar – and that includes the future of our family farms. 
    That’s right, the future of farming in New York State still hangs in the balance thanks to a law enacted in 2019 that was pushed by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo as a cornerstone of his so-called “progressive” remake of New York government. 
    This signature action of the 2019 legislative session was controversial legislation (S6578/A8419, Chapter 105 of the Laws of 2019) known as the “Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act,” conjured up by two Democrat legislators from the farming heartland of Queens, New York City and pushed hard by Cuomo.
    Throughout the year prior to this law’s enactment, I joined many opponents, including the New York Farm Bureau, to warn about its consequences. We feared that mandatory overtime pay and other provisions of the new law, especially the creation of a three-member Farm Wage Board granted the authority to unilaterally change the law’s provisions, without legislative approval, could worsen the impact of farm labor costs on farm income at a time when the farm economy is already struggling.
    We warned that it could increase already exorbitant farm labor costs by nearly $300 million or close to 20%, resulting in an across-the-board drop in net farm income of 23% -- keeping in mind that over the past five years, New York State has already lost 20 percent of our dairy farms.
    I debated and voted against this move when the Senate approved it in June 2019.

    The bottom line is that this misguided action by a state government triumvirate of leaders under one-party, largely downstate-based control -- guided on many current issues by a far-left, extreme-liberal governing philosophy -- has profound implications throughout local farm economies across rural, upstate New York, including driving more family farms out of business.
    And that was the case even before COVID-19, which we now know has taken its own toll on our farmers and the entire agricultural industry, and heightened the burdens. 
    Unfortunately, we could see the worst consequences of this law play out, later this fall, as we feared. The three-member Farm Wage Board held a series of virtual public hearings in late 2020 that appeared to be paving the way for lowering the current 60-hour threshold requiring farmers to pay their employees overtime. The Wage Board ultimately delayed any changes to the law but is set to revisit it before the end of this year when it could, again without legislative approval, move to lower the 60-hour threshold.
    That would be yet another economic disaster for New York’s farmers and farmworkers. It is critical for upstate legislators, for whom the farm economy is a foundation of communities we represent, to continue keeping close watch on a Wage Board still holding the future of so many farmers and rural economies in its hands. This is the worst possible time to risk mandating and regulating more farms out of business, and that is exactly what will be at stake. 
    If this Wage Board drives more farmers out of business, ex-Governor Cuomo and the Democrat legislative majorities will be responsible.
    Let’s not forget the reaction of New York’s farm community on the day in the summer of 2019 when Cuomo officially signed the new law. Remember that he didn’t hold the signing ceremony at an upstate New York family farm. Instead, he went to Manhattan to the offices of the New York Daily News, a liberal big city daily newspaper that had long advocated for the law.
    It might have been good at the time for Cuomo’s big city politics, but New York’s farm community spoke for itself that day.
    “Common ground should have considered what farms can afford and the opportunities our employees will lose as a result of this law. In the end, our reasonable requests were cast aside… What was also dismissed by many of New York's leaders is the dignity and respect our farm families have long provided to the men and women we need and work alongside every day…(the law) will still lead to significant financial challenges for farmers and the continued erosion of our rural communities,” said Farm Bureau President and dairy farmer David Fisher.
    In a statement, Grow NY Farms, a statewide coalition, wrote, “For months, hundreds of farmers and farmworkers spent countless hours seeking to find a balance with elected officials on measures that will change working conditions on farms across New York State. However, the measure that ultimately passed the Legislature and was signed by the Governor did not address the challenges and needs of farmers and farmworkers. (The law) does not create a path that will assure and economically viable New York agricultural industry.”
    No attempt to find common ground. No common sense. That’s where we still stand.
    At the very least, the must be continued, aggressive legislative oversight of this law’s implementation, including an ongoing assessment of its impact on the rural, upstate farm economy before there’s any move by an unelected, unaccountable Farm Wage Board to change the law and make it even more onerous on farmers and farmworkers.
    It has been reported that farm labor costs in New York State increased 40 percent over the past decade and that the 2019 law could result in another crippling 44-percent increase in wage expenses.
    Total farm labor costs are at least 63 percent of net cash farm income in New York, compared to 36 percent nationally.
    In my view, before even considering any changes, the Wage Board must allow adequate time to collect and assess data that would provide a more definitive picture of the impact of the 60-hour threshold on the finances and operations of New York farms, as well as consider additional factors including COVID-19’s ongoing impact on the agricultural industry.
    Now is no time to make this worse.
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