Stec, Senate Colleagues Outline Legislative Vision for 2021
January 5, 2021
On the eve of the 2021 Legislative Session in Albany, members of the Senate Republican conference today announced their “RESET NEW YORK STATE” agenda, outlining a list of goals for state government in the months ahead to help families, businesses and communities recover from the myriad challenges caused by COVID-19.
Senator Dan Stec (R,C,I-Queensbury) said the state must prioritize restarting the economy.
“There’s only one way forward and that’s to enable our businesses and communities, big and small, to have the best possible chance to recover,” said Stec. “When the need for help is apparent, too often the response of government is to throw an anvil instead of a life-preserver into the water. We can’t make this harder with higher taxes and more unreasonable demands. Our vision must show that we are listening. That’s what this is about.”
The plan proposes restarting local economies by helping small businesses, supporting schools and colleges staying open and investing in infrastructure, such as broadband and cellular, to stimulate the economy, which would have a lasting positive impact.
To assure funding is available, the plan proposes taking on Albany’s culture of overspending by focusing on accountability of how tax dollars are spent, including the assistance provided by the federal government. Stec and his colleagues also want the State Legislature to reassert its constitutional authority as an equal branch of government.
“While now may not be the time to resume ‘business as usual’ with thousands of people coming to the State Capital daily to advocate, I think now is the time for lawmakers to return to Albany and, like a lot of other people in other professions are doing, get back to work,” said Stec.
Finally, the goal is to support the efforts of local business and community leaders.
“The help that is needed locally is different in many parts of New York,” said Stec. “Having a local government background, I know the perils of the state’s ‘one-size-fits-all’ approaches, especially the unfunded mandates. At the very least, stopping those would be an important victory in the upcoming session.”