Patty Ritchie

2% Tax Cap for Land Assessments a Top Farm Bureau Priority

State Senator Patty Ritchie has announced final passage of legislation that would provide New York State farmers with relief from rising property taxes. Under Senate Bill 1952, a 2 percent tax cap would be placed on annual agricultural land assessment increases.

"Land taxes are crushing farmers, threatening to drive many right out of business, and making it harder to keep generations-old farms in the family," said Senate Agriculture Chair Patty Ritchie. 

State Senator Patty Ritchie visited Volney Elementary recently, to meet with 6th grade students who participated in the school’s Government Day.

As part of the visit, Senator Ritchie presented each student with a certificate, recognizing them for their participation. 

State Senator Patty Ritchie has announced her  bill that would improve motorcycle safety by adding motorcycle awareness training to the DMV’s mandatory, pre-licensing courses has passed unanimously the Senate.

“Today, more and more people are using motorcycles to get around, and that means that all drivers need to be more aware of how to safely share the road” said State Senator Patty Ritchie. 

“By adding this training to the DMV’s pre-licensing courses, we can help ensure that new drivers are given the information they need—right from the start—to be more cognizant of motorcycles when they are out on the road.”

Legislation Sparked by Case of David Renz, Accused Killer Said to Have Defeated Device 46 Times

State Senator Patty Ritchie has introduced legislation to make it a crime to tamper with electronic monitoring devices, like the ankle bracelet that was supposed to be helping law enforcement keep an eye on accused killer-child rapist David Renz.

The bill (S.5422-A), which is sponsored in the Assembly by Assemblyman Dennis Gabryszak, a Buffalo-area Democrat and cosponsored in the Senate by Senator John DeFrancisco and Senator David Valesky,  would make it a felony—adding up to four years of additional prison time—for an offender who tampers with a device and commits another violent crime, and up to one year in jail if no other crime is involved.

Right now, tampering with a device can be a violation of parole or pre-sentencing release, but it is not a separate crime.

Teachers Receive Special Funding for Classroom Enrichment

More than 40 educators from Oswego, Jefferson and St. Lawrence Counties were each awarded $500 in special funding for classroom enrichment at Senator Patty Ritchie’s “Teachers of Excellence” program, held Thursday in Watertown.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE EVENT PROGRAM

The funding—which represents a $22,000 addition to the increase in state education funding local schools received this year—will be used by educators for technology, supplies and other improvements in the classroom. 

State Senator Patty Ritchie will honor more than 40 teachers from Oswego, Jefferson and St. Lawrence Counties at a special event to be held Thursday in Watertown.

Honorees were nominated for Senator Ritchie’s “Teachers of Excellence” program for their dedication and commitment to education by colleagues, former students, friends and family members.

State Senator Patty Ritchie joined colleagues, health professionals and rural health experts from across New York State for a Rural Hospitals Roundtable, taking place at the Capitol on Monday. 

The group, which included members of the bipartisan Rural Resources Commission and Members of the Senate Health Committee, explored ways to strengthen rural hospitals and preserve access to quality healthcare in underserved communities.