It was billed as an “extraordinary session” of the Legislature.
It was anything but.
To be fair to our elected representatives, the adjective is used to signify a session that”™s not regularly scheduled. No need to put undue hardship on them by making them think they need to work extraordinarily hard.
If a session were to be truly extraordinary, it would mean that any legislative talks would be bipartisan and open and the lawmakers would leave the capital having accomplished something positive.
When was the last time that happened?
Assembly Minority Leader Brian M. Kolb said the inaction last week was disgraceful.
The session was “a complete and utter failure to the people who count the most, the residents of New York state.”
Looking to squeeze out a bit of lemonade, Gov. David Paterson did note the passage of two of his program bills. One closed a loophole in the sentencing laws of violent felons. The other concerned mandate relief.
This is a bill that has long been called for on these pages.
It”™s a result in part of the work done by the Local Government Commission on Efficiency and Competitiveness more than a year ago. Better late than never.
The bill that was passed would make it easier for local governments to share services and become more efficient. Getting municipalities to work together will now be the only possible stumbling block.
By commenting on the two bills, Paterson tried to put a positive spin on the less than stellar performance by the Legislature. That little matter of a $3.2 billion deficit still looms large. In will loom even larger in a few more weeks when large bills are due to be paid by the state.
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After touting the bill, which will not provide any immediate relief to communities in the state, Paterson ended with:
“But there is still work to be done. I will call the Senate and Assembly back into extraordinary session on November 16 and 17, to address the budget deficit and continue to act on outstanding legislation, including marriage equality. The people of New York demand action from their elected officials and I will do everything in my power to protect fiscal integrity.”
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That is a recurring theme this year in Albany across a number of issues ”“ there is still work to be done.
How about changing it to “Let”™s get it done.”
Or maybe “Let”™s be done with it already.”
Or something a bit more pointed: “Finish it or you”™re fired.”
Oh, right, can”™t fire a lawmaker.
Well, you can at the polls. Westchester County Executive Andy Spano found that out a few weeks ago.
Less than 350 days until Election Day.
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Plate it again, Sam
The license plates on most cars have half-lives of about 100 years.
So, why do New Yorkers need to have them replaced over the next two years?
To raise money for the state.
The Department of Motor Vehicles is calling them Empire Gold. Sounds more like a strain of marijuana than a license plate.
“These new plates, in the official colors of the State of New York, will help maintain highway safety, reduce the number of unregistered and uninsured vehicles on our roads, and generate $129 million in General Fund revenue over two years, which will help address the state”™s financial crisis,” DMV Commissioner David J. Swarts said.
A plate fee of $25 will be added to the registration renewal fee. Those wanting to keep their current plate number will be required to pay an extra $20 fee. The DMV will sell the new plates for registration renewals that expire in May 2010.
The DMV notes: “License plate visibility tends to decrease as license plates lose their reflectivity and become marred and damaged from use.”
What? Damaged from use?
Are you one of those who removes their plates at night and uses them for cutting boards? Serving trays?
We wanted transparency in government and we got it with this.
Let”™s raise money by selling drivers unneeded license plates. But to sell the idea to them let”™s dazzle them with baloney, including a throwback to the 1950s when advertisers used “NEW” jumping out of a rough-edged star.
Only thing missing in this DMV campaign is “IMPROVED!”
