Yesterday, we voted on a state budget that hurts Rochester, Monroe County and upstate New York. Rather than address the state's affordability crisis or provide New Yorkers with real relief from the high taxes that are forcing people and families to leave our state, this budget makes things worse.

Unfortunately, many of the amendments my Senate Republican colleagues and I introduced were rejected. This includes accelerating the middle-class tax cuts to provide more relief this year, making the property tax rebate checks permanent, enacting a state spending cap and ensuring we maintain transportation funding parity so we can continue to improve upstate roads and bridges.

Instead, this budget includes an assortment of new taxes, fees and unfunded mandates that will drastically hamper the viability of local governments. Some of the new taxes include:
*A new tax on internet purchases
*A new tax on prescription drugs and medications, which would harm seniors and our most vulnerable populations
*A new tax on driving that will hurt upstate New York’s tourism industry
*A new tax on real estate transactions