Thursday, January 30, 2014

And So It Begins!

We’ve been so busy (a good thing!) with the start of the legislative session that we’re a little late with our first blog post!

Session was off to a quick start with Governor Cuomo reiterating support for campaign finance reform and the Women’s Equality Act in his State of the State.  That rhetorical support for campaign finance reform was followed up with inclusion of comprehensive reform in his executive budget proposal.  So our lobbying efforts are ramping up very quickly this session as we are as close as we've ever been to seeing legislative action on campaign finance reform, an issue the League has championed for decades.  The League will be testifying on the matter during next week’s budget hearings – be sure to check out lwvny.org for the written testimony (You can also watch live streaming of the budget hearings here).

There’s also much to say about education in the governor’s budget proposal, which included some funding for universal pre-k.  Our Education Issue Specialist, Marion Bott, is our expert on education finance, so instead of elaborating here, we’ll direct you to the testimony she gave during last week’s education budget hearing.  Check it out here.  We’ll continue to advocate on this issue as well throughout the budget season.

In other updates, the Assembly again passed the omnibus Women’s Equality Act this past week.  This, of course, will be another major issue for us as we go forward this session, with our focus being on the Senate to do right by the women of New York.


Check in next week for more updates on the budget hearings!