WCDO Radio News

Governor Cuomo announced that he will deliver his state of
the state & Annual Budget Proposal next Tuesday in Albany.  Lawmakers have until April 1st to pass the
budget plan; the Governor will be working with Democratic Majorities in Both
Houses of the legislature this year.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie announced the Assembly
Majority agenda in Albany Wednesday, which he feels has a great chance of being
enacted this year with the corresponding Democratic majority in the State
Senate:

(Heastie 1-10-19)

Heastie said that the majority agenda includes the
Reproductive Health Act, Affordable health care, criminal justice reform,
reforming the bail system, & passing the "DREAM Act" for the
children of immigrants to have access to Higher Education.   Local Assemblyman Cliff Crouch commented the
Lawmakers need to reverse the trend of people leaving the state for
opportunities elsewhere:

(Crouch 1-10-19)

Lawmakers have until June 19th to get their bills passed for
the 2019 session.

State Senator Fred Akshar is cosponsoring the
"Anti-Corruption Constitutional Amendment" with Democratic State
Senator Liz Krueger to establish a new regulatory body to oversee the
legislative and executive branches of state government, following years of
corruption.   Akshar said that it would
replace the Joint Commission on Public Ethics and the Legislative Ethics
Commission, which are both comprised of individuals, appointed by the
legislature and the executive branches and have been criticized for a lack of
independence and transparency.  The bill
requires a constitutional change and must pass both houses of the State
Legislature before going before the public as a referendum at the polls, if it
passes, the Governor would not have to sign it for it to become law.

31-year-old Gordon Carr-Wisner
of Otego was reported to law enforcement his parole officer, for allegedly
accessing the internet and illegally using social media sites. 7 different
accounts were found that were operated by Carr-Wisner, which resulted in 7
counts of Failure to Notify of an Internet Change within 10 Calendar Days for
Registered Sexual Offender.   Carr-Wisner
was returned to jail without bail pending court action on the parole violations
& the charges.

Governor Cuomo announced more than $35 million was returned
to over 35,000 victims of wage theft in 2018 by the state Department of
Labor.  In the Southern Tier, over
$346,000 was returned to 385 employees.

Wal-Mart has agreed to pay $66,000 in penalties & fees in a false advertising investigation, after claims were made that Wal-Mart overcharged for Coca-Cola products, to customers across New York. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said the investigation followed the June 2014 Father's Day sale of 12 packs of Coca-Cola products for $3, when consumers went to purchase the soda, they found that they were routinely being charged $3.50, and they were told that the price increase was due to a New York State Sugar tax, that does not exist.

New York State could soon legalize marijuana for recreational use, as State Senator Liz Krueger will reintroduce the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act during the next legislative session in January. The bill calls for allowing the opening of retail dispensaries, which would be regulated by the State Liquor Authority & would establish an excise tax on all marijuana sales. Adults would legally be able to possess up to 2 ounces of marijuana & grow up to 6 plants at home for personal use. New York became the to legalize medicinal marijuana recently, but only in smokeless forms.

The New York Tax commission released its report to governor Cuomo earlier this week, with proposal to keep the state growing by lowering or freezing taxes. Governor Cuomo commented yesterday in Albany about the plan”:

(Cuomo Tax Commission 12-12-13)

The Commission also endorsed most of the plans forwarded to simplify the structure of state’s tax system by eliminating nuisance taxes. The governor will include the recommendations in his State of the State address January 8th and his state budget proposal, which will be released on January 21st.

State Senator Jim Seward announced that 47 job creation projects in the 51st senate district will receive state funds totaling more than $14.8 million through the third round of Regional Economic Development Council awards. Seward’s district encompasses the Mohawk & Southern Tier regions, which won 2 of the biggest awards again this year, Statewide a total of $715.9 million was awarded for 824 projects.

Marijuana in New York would be legalized under legislation submitted Wednesday by a state senator Liz Krueger of Manhattan. The Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act would tax and regulate marijuana in the same manner as alcohol, the bill would remove penalties for possession under two ounces of marijuana or less. It would make 18 the minimum legal age for marijuana possession and consumption, but prohibit the sale of marijuana to people under the age of 21. The bill said there would be an excise tax of $50 per ounce of marijuana, and localities would be able to authorize a sales tax on retail sales.

State Senator Tom Libous reported that only 70% of Delaware County homeowners have registered for their STAR exemption. Libous said that there are still about 1,100 homeowners in Delaware County who are missing out on this money-saving School Tax Relief exemption. Homeowners across New York State who receive the Basic STAR exemption must re-register with the New York State Tax Department, by December 31st. registrations are available at tax.ny.gov and clicking on Register for STAR, or by calling 518-457-2036. Seniors receiving Enhanced STAR are NOT affected. Libous stated that the STAR program saves the average property owner $700 a year.

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is pressing wireless carriers to install anti-theft measures in smart phones. Schneiderman sent letters to the nation’s biggest wireless carriers regarding the industry’s decision to prohibit Samsung from pre-loading a “kill switch” application. The device can be activated remotely after a smart phone is stolen and render the phone permanently inoperable. In New York, there was a 40 percent spike last year in cell phone thefts.

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is optimistic the Senate will vote in January on her bill to change the military’s approach to sexual assault cases. Gillibrand failed to get a Senate vote this year on her proposal, which would give military attorneys the authority to decide whether to prosecute sexual assault cases and other serious crimes in the armed forces. She had offered the proposal as an amendment to an annual fiscal 2014 National Defense Authorization Act, which is expected to win approval in the House this week and the Senate next week.