The Auburn Citizen reports - “Governor Andrew Cuomo’s “People First” tour made its first stop Tuesday when the governor came to Onondaga Community College to press the New York State Legislature on three measures he hopes to see passed by the end of the legislative session.

During his 25-minute presentation to a packed crowd at OCC, Cuomo called on the Legislature to pass ethics reform, marriage equality and a property tax cap.

“Time is short. There is a lot to do,” he said.”

To read more click here.

Cuomo targeted what he called New York’s “hidden tax” — the property tax. He pointed to county tax levels and said the top 15 highest-taxed counties in the country are all in New York.

To address the high tax burden, Cuomo introduced his program bill that would place a 2-percent cap on property tax increases. The state Senate passed the bill earlier this year, but the Assembly has yet to act. Republicans in the Assembly and Senate have pressured the Assembly Democratic majority to act, but the bill hasn’t made it to the floor for a vote.

The New York Daily News calls on voters to support Gov. Cuomo’s property tax cap in an editorial.

It reads: “Gov. Andrew Cuomo has predicted June 20 will be D-Day in Albany.

The next six weeks in Albany will be a “battle for the control of government,” Gov. Cuomo declared yesterday - and right he was.

On one side will be a governor elected with an overwhelming mandate for fundamental reforms - including a cap on skyrocketing property taxes and a crackdown on Albany sleaze.

Opposing him will be the forces of the status quo that command the Legislature.

D-Day, as Cuomo put it, will be June 20 - the scheduled end of the legislative session.”

Read the full editorial.

According to the governor’s press office - “Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced he will kick-off his statewide “People First” campaign tomorrow at noon at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse.

The Governor will deliver his message of ethics reform, a property tax cap, and marriage equality to hundreds of Central New Yorkers and the local media.

“Our entire team is going to travel the state to speak directly to New Yorkers about the issues that can move this state forward, and it begins in Syracuse,” Governor Cuomo said. “We need to pass a property tax cap, ethics reform, and marriage equality during this legislative session. The clock is ticking, but when the people speak, the politicians will listen. We will assemble a broad coalition of New Yorkers to support this agenda and work tirelessly to get it passed in Albany.”

Tuesday, May 10

12:00 PM Governor Cuomo Holds “People First” Event

Onondaga Community College (OCC)
The Gordon Student Center, Great Room
4585 West Seneca Turnpike
Syracuse

Robert Harding writes for the Auburn Citizen - “Governor Andrew Cuomo, Lt. Governor Robert Duffy and members of the governor’s cabinet could be coming to a city, town or village near you.

Governor Cuomo announced Wednesday that he and his team will embark on the “People First Tour,” which will feature stops in communities across New York to “build support for legislative priorities including property tax cap, ethics reform, and marriage equality.”

According to a news release from the governor’s office, the tour will feature Governor Cuomo and his cabinet delivering presentations discussing the administration’s top priorities in the final weeks of the legislative session.”

To read more click here.

To read the governor’s press release click here.

Tell Speaker Silver to enact a 2 percent property tax cap Now! Click here to send a Message to the Speaker and your local legislators!

“Aides to Gov. Cuomo revealed yesterday that they found massive waste in state government — including 1 million square feet of unused state office space in New York City, nearly 2,000 vendors providing often duplicated products and services, and 425 toll-free phone numbers that haven’t been used in months.” write Fred Dicker and Brendan Scott in the New York Post.

“They discovered that state agencies rented costly new office space as recently as December — even as the equivalent of a skyscraper’s worth of state-owned and state-rented office space stood vacant — costing taxpayers more than $30 million a year.”

To read more from the Post click here.

The following is part of an editorial in the Kingston Daily Freeman.

“The generally positive outcome of this year’s Albany World budget season should not obscure that the process was, once again, a train wreck.

A polite, unobtrusive train wreck, perhaps, but a train wreck nonetheless.

Yes, Gov. Mario Cuomo got legislators to agree to a budget that, without gimmicks, cut spending by a little more than 2 percent.

He also got it done without the imposition of new taxes.

And the budget was enacted on time.

But the process looked familiar and that’s no compliment.

The budget was largely a product of “three men in a room,” negotiations between the governor and the respective leaders of the Assembly and Senate.”

To read the rest of the editorial click here.

According to a release issued by the governor’s office - “Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that he is directing the Insurance Department to issue permanent regulations banning placement agents, lobbyists and, for the first time, elected officials from any pension fund business. The new regulations will also contain new provisions that will permanently ban “pay-to-play” at the pension fund.

“It is long past time that we learned the lessons of the Hevesi case and made permanent changes to our system that will stop the culture of corruption,” Governor Cuomo said. “In case after case in the pension fund investigation, we saw the systemic abuse of the pension fund by public officials and those seeking quick profits at the expense of taxpayers. Our mission now must be to protect public and taxpayer dollars from being further abused by elected officials who misuse their office and violate the law.”

Previously, the Insurance Department issued temporary emergency regulations as a result of Governor Cuomo’s investigation of the state pension fund as Attorney General. These temporary regulations will be made permanent and strengthened.”

To read more click here.

According to a Siena College poll released today - “Nearly two-thirds of voters say that either a property tax cap (37 percent) or a new ethics law for state legislators including greater disclosure of outside income (27 percent) is the most important issue that they want legislators to address before the June end of session. Legalizing same sex marriages was identified by 13 percent of voters, extending rent regulations by 12 percent, and creating an independent redistricting commission by eight percent.

“A property tax cap and new ethics law are the top two priorities for Democrats, Republicans and independents, downstate suburban and upstate voters, moderates and conservatives. For New York City voters, ethics is number one, followed by extending rent regulations, one point ahead of the property tax cap. Liberal voters put legalizing same sex marriages at the top of the list, slightly ahead of a property tax cap and ethics,” Greenberg said.

For more detail on the polls findings click here.

Ken Lovett writes in the Daily News - “Gov. Cuomo wants to require that lobbying groups disclose their financial backers, the Daily News has learned.

Cuomo says the public should know the financial muscle behind the ads and actions of new groups that pop up lobbying for various issues, a senior administration official said during a wide-ranging interview Friday.

As part of an ethics reform plan, Cuomo wants to require any organization that spends at least $50,000 and 3% of their total expenditures on lobbying to disclose any donor that contributes at least $5,000, administration officials say.”

To read more click here.

The New York Times reports - “State Senator Carl Kruger, a powerful and at times controversial Brooklyn Democrat; a state assemblyman; and an influential lobbyist are expected to turn themselves in on Thursday to federal authorities in Manhattan on corruption charges, according to several people briefed on the matter.

Mr. Kruger had been under investigation by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn who were looking into accusations that he had helped businessmen surmount bureaucratic hurdles in exchange for assistance raising campaign money, but the charges stemmed from an investigation by Manhattan federal prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Others, including William F. Boyland Jr., a four-term Democratic state assemblyman from Brooklyn, and Richard Lipsky, a lobbyist, and two hospital executives, were also expected to face charges in the case, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the charges had not been made public.”

To read more from Times reporter Nicholas Confessore’s story click here.