New Year, new opportunity to take back New York
Happy New Year! The 2022 Legislative Session is now underway and, with it, a new opportunity to take back our government and chart a positive direction for our state.
On our first day of Session, Governor Hochul delivered her 2022 State of the State Address that featured many of the important priorities I’ve continually advocated for such as funding the Joseph P. Dwyer Peerto-Peer Veterans Counseling Support Program and expanding this successful, lifesaving program statewide. The Dwyer Program should be a formal part of the State Budget so veterans and advocates don’t have to continually fight for this critical funding.
Governor Hochul called for accelerating $1.2 billion in middle-class tax cuts for six million New Yorkers, a proposal mirroring my legislation, Senate Bill S.1808, which would accelerate the middle-class tax cut phasein by one year. I also was pleased that Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins called for enactment of a health care worker peer support program, an important proposal that I sponsor as Senate Bill S.2553.
The Governor’s address included longtime Senate Republican priorities such as tax relief for small businesses, property tax rebates for homeowners, critical infrastructure investment, term limits, and the creation of a new, independent state ethics commission to replace JCOPE, which has been an abysmal failure. These are all good ideas deserving strong, bipartisan support.
Critical public safety challenge missing from Governor’s speech
Unfortunately, the Governor’s address failed to mention New York’s number one public safety challenge: the urgent need to end cashless bail for dangerous criminals. The law that established NY’s revolving doors of justice — a law enacted by Democrats — has allowed criminals to roam free and re-offend. The measure is an unmitigated disaster that must be repealed.
Unveiling our “Take Back New York” Agenda
Also on Wednesday, my Senate Republican colleagues and I released our “Take Back New York” 2022 legislative agenda, a thoughtful, balanced response to the neglect of our state created by Democrat one-party rule. Take Back New York would restore balance and common sense to government while rejecting the extreme policies of the past three years. Our focus is growing our local and state economies, providing financial breathing room for middle-class families and small business owners, and making public safety an urgent priority.
Specifically, our Take Back New York agenda would:
• Offer a better quality of life for all New Yorkers by ending cashless bail for dangerous criminals, restoring judicial discretion to keep criminals off our streets, and supporting law enforcement and crime victims, as well as expanding and ensuring access to a quality education for all our children;
• Make New York more affordable for every resident by cutting our highest-in-the-nation tax burden and enacting a series of measures that lower the cost of childcare and the day-to-day cost of living in our state;
• Develop a strong workforce for a strong economy through substantive training and development programs, and a major commitment to our family farms;
• Improve our business climate and expand economic opportunity by cutting burdensome regulations, investing in physical infrastructure and broadband statewide, and moving toward a cleaner en
ergy future;
• Ensure security for our vulnerable populations by securing funding for our veterans, providing needed resources to our seniors and their caregivers, combating the opioid crisis, and better treating mental wellness; and
• Restore accountability to state government in the aftermath of disgraced exGovernor Cuomo’s rampant abuses of power.
Taking back our government, putting taxpayers first
From COVID to crime, to Albany’s heavy-handed overreach, crushing taxes, and destructive mandates, New Yorkers are fed up, frustrated, and know that our state’s headed in the wrong direction — which is why residents continue leaving. We need to take our government back from the criminals, Albany bureaucrats, and New York City special interests driving a destructive cycle of decay and decline, end one-party ruinous rule, and put hard-working taxpayers first. Our Take Back New York agenda offers smart solutions to achieve these important goals!
Contact and connect with me
If I can help, call me at (518) 371-2751, e-mail me at jordan@nysenate.gov, visit my Senate webpage https:// www.nysenate.gov/senators/ daphne-jordan, contact my district office at 1580 Columbia Turnpike Building 2, Suite 1, Castleton-On-The-Hudson, NY 12033, or connect with me on Facebook (Senator Daphne Jordan), Instagram (Senator_ Jordan), and Twitter (NY Senator Jordan).
NYS Senator Daphne Jordan serves as the Ranking Republican Member on the Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee, the Senate Libraries Committee, the Senate State-Native American Relations Committee, and the Women’s Issues Committee. Senator Jordan represents the 43rd Senate District that includes parts of Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Washington counties and all of Columbia County.