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Citizens for a Better New York Urges Strong Support
for Senate Committee
April 29, 2009
In
late April in Albany the State Senate Temporary Committee on
Rules and Administration Reform announced the results of its
4-month effort to study rules reform.
As advocates for the interests of
all New Yorkers, we are very pleased with the Senate committee's
report and recommendations. Assuming that these changes will
be adopted, the NY State Senate will be taking great strides toward
ending the legislature's dysfunction and lack of transparency.
They are taking huge steps toward adopting a culture of continuous
improvement. These changes begin the process of restoring
democracy to NY and perhaps ending "Three Men in a Room".
CFBNY presented testimony at all four Senate committee hearings
held throughout the state. We urge the following action.
Action Requested:
1. Send an e-mail or
call your State Senator and urge them to adopt the changes
proposed by the committee. You can find a list of the Senate e-mail
addresses:
Click Here.
2. Send an e-mail
to Senator Malcolm Smith and the members of the committee
thanking them for their launch of a culture of continuous
improvement in the Senate.
Contact:
www.cfbny.org
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Citizen's Group Urges NY Senate to Take Historic Action
12.14.08
Citizens For a Better NY is urging State Senators to
take advantage of a fading opportunity and change their
operating rules now.
"New Yorkers face significant challenges in the coming years
regarding keeping their jobs, making do with declining tax
revenues, helping all our kids be successful in school, and
maintaining affordable health care. The success of our state
depends on citizens and our elected officials working
together for the common good." said Stuart Berger, of
Brighton, President of Citizens for a Better NY.
"Members of the Senate can become responsive to the needs of
citizens by opening up the legislative process so the
interests of all New Yorker's can be heard.", Berger said.
During its special session on December 15th, the Senate has
the opportunity to define the environment in which they'll
deal with the state's huge budget deficit. We
urge them to immediately adopt the key changes recommended
by the Brennan Center in 2004:
1. Strengthening the committee process;
2. Ending the stranglehold leadership has over bills getting
to the floor,
3. Institutionalizing the use of conference committees, and
4. Ending leadership control over resources and staff.
Adopting these changes means that cooperation and
collaboration take the place of partisanship.
"Senators: Change the rules now!", said Berger.
The organization has purchased an ad that appears on page 6
of the December 15th issue of the Legislative Gazette
mimicking a pharmaceutical ad and prescribing NY-AGRA as the
cure for "Governmental Dysfunction (GD)".
Contact:
Bob Volpe
1940 Highland Ave.
Rochester NY 14618
585-301-5579
www.cfbny.org
http://www.legislativegazette.com/back_issues/08-12-15_for_web.pdf
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Lawmakers: Put people before politics
by Bob Volpe - Citizens for a Better New York -
Rochester, NY - November 12, 2008
Now is the time for Republicans to become statesmen and
act to change the state Senate rules to benefit all New
Yorkers. The GOP has had control of the Senate for more 40
years, but in January, the Democrats will take over.
Between now and then, the senators have the opportunity to
define the environment in which they’ll work, in which the
GOP will be the minority party.
We urge them to immediately adopt key changes recommended
by the Brennan Center for Justice in 2004:
• Strengthen the committee process.
• End leaders’ stranglehold over bills getting to the floor.
• Institutionalize the use of conference committees.
• End leadership control over resources and staff.
If these changes were adopted, cooperation and collaboration would
replace partisanship.
The Democrats could decide to change the rules back to a more restrictive
environment in January, but recent comments by current
Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith suggest a desire to
adopt the very changes cited above.
Senate Republicans now have the opportunity to respond to this overture,
which will have an impact on all future elections.
Gov. David Paterson recently announced that the new estimate for the
current year’s budget shortfall is $1.5 billion and $12.5
billion for next year’s budget deficit. He also announced
that an estimated 160,000 New Yorkers will lose their jobs.
With problems such as these, we can’t allow Albany to be
held hostage to the whims of just three men. Good ideas from
as many people as possible must be carried to open
deliberations in the Legislature by all its members.
On Nov. 18, the Legislature will meet in special session to deal with the
budget issues. Senate Republicans have a chance to begin to
make Albany more effective by ushering in a new spirit of
cooperation.
Tell your state senator you want to see a change in the Legislature
rules that will end the “three men in a room” type of
governance in Albany.
All New Yorkers face significant challenges — keeping their jobs, making
do with declining tax revenues, helping all our kids succeed
in school and reducing the burdensome impact of state debt.
Our state’s success depends on citizens and our lawmakers
working together for the common good. Tell Albany you want
your representatives all working together to meet these
challenges and advance the quality of our lives.
o
Volpe, of Rochester, is a member of the Executive Committee of
Citizens for a Better New York.
Citizen’s Group Advises Voters: Your
Albany Vote is Critical
November 2, 2008
Citizens For a Better NY is urging voters to send a
strong message to Albany legislators on Election Day.
“Voters have a chance to send a very clear message by
writing 'CHANGE NOW 'on their ballot for state offices. “The
real question is what will Albany legislators do to address
our state’s future most effectively?” What will they do to
deliver the vibrant state economy we all want?”, said Stuart
Berger, of Brighton, President of Citizens for a Better NY.
“Candidates are still bombarding voters with extravagant and
often misleading rhetoric. Their claims to have “brought
home the bacon” are really an admission of how unfair and
partisan the distribution of state resources has become.
Candidates are not addressing the real issue: Albany's need
to become responsive to the needs of citizens. The
real challenge for any candidate for state office is to open
up the legislative process so the interests of all New
Yorker’s can be heard.
Last Tuesday, the Governor announced that the current year’s
budget shortfall will be $1.5 billion and his forecast for
next year’s deficit is $12.5 billion. He also
announced that an estimated 160,000 New Yorkers will lose
their jobs. Good ideas from as many people as
possible must be openly deliberated in the legislature by
all of 150 our Assembly Members and all of our 62 Senators
regardless of party affiliation.
According to David Lum of Pittsford, a member of the group’s
Executive Committee, “We have a chance to make Albany more
effective. Take the time to evaluate the people
running. The real questions to ask are:
1: ‘How will you advance the common interests of all
New Yorker’s? by changing the rules of the legislature and
ending ‘Three Men in a Room’?” , and
2: "Will you support the public's interests over
special interests by changing the campaign finance laws?"
“Two things count for Albany legislators: campaign
contributions and votes. Make your vote be a loud and
strong message for change to overcome the influence of
special interest campaign money. If you think the
candidates’ answers to the 2 questions above aren’t good
enough, use your ballot as a protest vote by writing in
‘CHANGE NOW!’ in the write-in box above the line for their
office. Just slide open the door and write on the
paper. For more details on how to do this go to
www.cfbny.org.”
Said Bob Volpe of Rochester, another member of the group’s
leadership team.
“New Yorker’s face significant challenges in the coming
years regarding keeping jobs here, declining tax revenues,
helping all our kids be successful in school, and reducing
the burdensome impact of taxes and state debt. The success
of our state depends on citizens and our elected officials
working together for the common good. As a citizen, you
have a vital role: Tell Albany that you want the change that
will help us all to work together to advance the quality of
our lives,” said Berger.
Contact:
Bob Volpe
1940 Highland Ave.
Rochester NY 14618
585-301-5579
Bob is a member of the Executive committee of Citizens for a
Better New York
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