Al Graf Issues Statement Regarding State of the State Address

New York State Assemblyman Al Graf (Holbrook) issued the following statement in reaction to Governor Cuomo's State of the State Address, which he issued on Wednesday:

"Governor Cuomo laid out an ambitious agenda in his State of the State Address. Of particular note was his proposal to privatize the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), which will be welcome news for ratepayers who have been asked to pay exorbitant fees to a deeply mismanaged agency whose response to service issues resulting from Hurricane Sandy has been woefully inadequate. I agreed with several of his education platforms, some of which I have advocated for in the past, and am appreciative of his willingness to listen to the thoughts and ideas of legislators and use his position of power to implement meaningful change.
 
However, after working to spend within our means and close a combined $13.5 billion budget deficit over the last two years, the governor must have found a money tree in a money orchard as evidenced by his massive new spending proposals. If there are new, untapped revenue sources available, the state should support storm relief efforts on Long Island, like helping families pay down storm-related debt and repairing the barrier beaches on Fire Island to prevent further flooding of our mainland coast line. In addition, many outstanding issues remain on Long Island, like providing additional CHIPS funding to towns to fix our crumbling roads, supporting our BOCES program to provide our students with an educational career track and reducing the cost of electricity to boost our economy and make Long Island more affordable. These are but some of the issues I will be fighting for during the 2013 Legislative Session."