On Wednesday afternoon Governor Paterson delivers his State of the State – his opening salvo containing his priorities and focus for this year, with hints (or something more) of his budget address which will come soon.   I would urge everyone to take the time to watch, listen or read the document.  Several local television and radio stations will carry it and it will be up on the Governor’s website  (http://www.state.ny.us/governor/  as a webcast and the text.  

Today the New York Times revealed that Gov. Paterson will “unveil a set of sweeping proposals to rein in political corruption in state government including vastly expanded ethics oversight, term limits for all state officeholders and a system of public campaign financing modeled on New York City’s.”   Term limits would be two four-year terms for most state positions, with a six two-year terms for members of the Legislature.  According to the Times, the Governor’s plan means lobbyists will be limited to $250 and corporate donations would be banned completely.  Maximum contribution levels would fall from the highest limit of $55,900 to $1,000.  Party “housekeeping accounts” would be strictly limited too. 

It will be up to the Legislature to take up these items, at a time when voters are apparently at their most disgruntled. 

It will be telling to watch how the media covers these and other aspects of the speech.  The best thing for voters would be to pay close attention, make up their own minds then tell their representatives and the Governor what they want… and start doing that soon.  

Feel free to share your post-State of the State thoughts with us.

Deb Warner
VP for Public Policy & Government Relations
Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce

Welcome to In Session, The Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce government relations blog. We are excited, in this inaugural post, to be using this format to connect to our business community. In Session is designed to inform, engage and interact with the business community from our region. We will present the news and views from local, state and federal government as it relates to the business environment in our region.

From time to time, we will use our posts to conduct polls, to get a general idea of what the business community is thinking on particular governmental issues. We will post commentary on proposed bills or give you insight into how our politicians vote on particular legislation. We will comment on pressing topics making headlines as well as lesser known items worthy of attention.

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Deb Warner
VP for Public Policy & Government Relations
Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce