Ethics deal likely dead, Cuomo says
ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo slammed the door Saturday on the possibility that he and the Legislature will agree to deals on ethics reform or to create a state DREAM Act providing access to state tuition assistance for kids of undocumented immigrants before the legislative session ends in June.
After winning the bulk of his priorities in the recently concluded budget negotiations, Cuomo said that “those (issues) that weren’t done in the budget, I don’t know that they’re feasible to get done” with the current Legislature.
“If we didn’t get it done in the budget, it means you don’t have the political will to get it done,” Cuomo (photo) said.
Instead, he said, he’ll spend the rest of the session responding to initiatives the Legislature comes up with and focusing on infrastructure and economic development projects.
Cuomo has been accused by reform groups and some legislative Democrats of proposing a robust ethics-reform package but not pushing for it hard during the budget talks.
The governor cited items like a college affordability plan and a provision to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 18 among the issues he wanted done this year that were included in the final budget agreement.
Cuomo also dismissed recent criticism of his college plan that will eventually provide free public college tuition to students from families with household incomes of up to $125,000.
He shot back at critics who say his plan will do little to help the poor. He said lower-income students already have their tuition covered by various programs and that his new plan is aimed specifically at the middle class.