ALBANY—Yesterday afternoon the State Assembly passed Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's government consolidation bill by a solid 117-26 margin, but not without registering a few objections.
"This legislation is well-intentioned," said Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, a Rockland County Democrat. "However, I disagree with the premise and I have great concern with the legislation as proposed."
Most of the concerns had to do with the ability of smaller government entities to preserve themselves in the face of consolidation initiatives imposed by larger entities. This was the reason cited last week by Assemblyman Jack McEneny, an Albany Democrat, when he voted (in vain) against advancing the legislation out of committee. Cuomo has pointed out that no consolidations are mandated; the process is up to local control. McEneny doesn't seem convinced.
"Should it become law, I would suggest we give a far more serious commitment than we have so far to the issue of campaign finance reform, particularly as it regards referenda," he said on the floor. McEneny feared that a "well-funded advertising campaign" could dissolve a village.
Some legislators complained that the bill was being pushed through without adequate review; while Cuomo first proposed the measure in December and has traveled around the state to promote it, the bill text was not available until two weeks ago. Several members brought up the concerns raised last week by firefighters, who are wary that their companies could face consolidation under the bill.
I found Assemblyman Phil Boyle, a Long Island Republican, on the floor, and asked if he had drafted an amendment to exempt fire districts, which he said last week he would do.
"We did have a meeting, and I'm not going to offer the amendment," Boyle said, referring to a talk with Cuomo's staff. "I don't want to make the perfect the enemy of the good."
He voted for the bill. I asked why he had the change of heart about the amendment–did it have anything to do with not crossing the most popular elected official in the state?
"I'm former chief of staff to Rick Lazio, so helping out Andrew Cuomo was not in my consideration at all," he said.
About 10 minutes after the vote was recorded and announced, Cuomo's office sent an e-mail titled: ATTORNEY GENERAL CUOMO APPLAUDS NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY FOR PASSING LANDMARK CONSOLIDATION BILL TO REDUCE GOVERNMENT WASTE AND SAVE TAXPAYER MONEY.
"I applaud Speaker Silver and Minority Leader Kolb for working together to pass a truly historic piece of legislation that strengthens the ability of communities across our state to reform their local governments, reduce costly overhead and slash some of the nation's most burdensome property taxes," Cuomo said in the statement.
"For more than 75 years, the issue of government consolidation has been examined and studied to death. Now, thanks to strong leadership in the Assembly, New Yorkers are one step closer to having the power to initiate real reform in their communities and lower their tax burden. I look forward to the measure's swift passage in the Senate."
