The effort to save New York taxpayers more than $100 million per year by streamlining and modernizing the State Legislature began today when Assemblyman Steve Katz unveiled his plan to push Albany into the 21st Century.
Katz stood before Somers town hall earlier this morning to list his second-term objectives to push Albany into the 21st century by mandating new efficiencies within the State Assembly and Senate.
“I have seen how Albany works and it’s not pretty,” said Steve Katz. “The so called ‘Albany Bill Mill’ drains the State’s finances through archaic procedures and inefficiencies that would make any business go under within months. Yet, Albany lumbers along without any sense of fiscal accountability.”
Steve Katz is currently running for a second term to the redistricted 94thAssembly (currently 99th) seat. He is also a small business owner, having founded and operated a long-standing veterinary practice.
Parts of Steve Katz’ plan have already been put into motion in the form of recently-introduced legislation. Over time, his plan will require several bills, a constitutional amendment and a reality check for Legislators. Objectives include:
- A reduction in the number of bills before the legislature from 1,000 to less than 200 per year
- A reduction in Legislator pay from $79,500 per anum to $45,000
- A requirement that all bills have a companion bill in the opposite house before being introduced
- A requirement that any bill requiring funding be accompanied with a fiscal impact statement
- The elimination of Home Rule bills
- The ability for members to vote on bills via computer at their District Offices
- All bills meeting this criteria would be voted on by the entire Assembly thus bypassing the highly partisan committees.
The above measures and others put forward by Dr. Katz would save the State more than $100,000,000 per year.
As a first term Assemblyman, Steve Katz objectives included:
- Tax relief
- A moratorium on unfunded mandates that drain local towns and city coffers
- Healthcare reform within the State
- Ethics reform that restores honesty and integrity to Albany
- Making New York a business-friendly state
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About Steve Katz
Steve Katz (www.katz4ny.com) currently serves the New York Assembly, 99th District (redistricted to the 94th) and resides in Mohegan Lake, NY with his wife and children. His tenure in the New York Assembly brought about a number of key pieces of common-sense conservative legislation. Dr. Katz is currently spearheading a statewide law requiring a photo ID for elections and has worked tirelessly as an assemblyman to reduce New York’s tax burden and eliminate excessive regulations on businesses. Katz is a veterinarian and has been a small business owner for over 25 years.
