Paterson decides not to follow limits

Gov. David Paterson will take the full campaign $55,900 contribution allowed by law in his expected run for governor in 2010, quietly abandoning limits set by his predecessor, according to the Albany Times Union.

“In order to compete on a level playing field he will adhere to the limits that are set under current rules,” spokesman Jonathan Rosen said, according to the article.

Resolving the Hinckley mess

Local and state officials say the Hinckley Reservoir Working Group's final report due today will serve only as the starting point for examining issues related to this important water resource.

Here’s what state officials and representatives had to say:

* State Department of Health officials, who have been facilitating the working group, still were receiving input and finalizing the report Tuesday night, spokeswoman Diane Mathis said. She said she expects today's deadline to submit the report to Gov. David Paterson will be met, and the report will be made public.

*Paterson's office will review the report and release a response about how the governor plans to address it, governor's spokesman Jack Downey said.

*State Assemblyman Marc Butler, R-Newport, said the working group made recommendations about some key components of the situation, such as improving communication, but the report is just the first stage of fully understanding what should be done.

“I think this is only part of the puzzle — a very large puzzle that needs to be resolved,” he said.

*State Sen. Joseph Griffo, R-Rome, said he looks forward to reading the report and determining what issues were left unaddressed. The next step should be following through and preventing problems from occurring again, he said.

Where was Paterson?

Tuesday was Reform Day, when self-described good-government groups converge on the Capitol to pitch causes like tougher campaign finance rules and more transparent public information laws, according to the New York Times.

Shortly after Eliot Spitzer was elected governor on a platform of “It all changes on Day One” — one of his first orders of business was to sit down with government watchdog groups.

According to the Times though, the watchdogs are finding that the new governor, David A. Paterson, is a little harder to pin down — who did not attend the luncheon, citing a scheduling conflict.

He instead issued a written statement reaffirming his commitment to reform and sent his senior advisers to meet with the state’s leading watchdog groups, the Times reported.

SUNY funding drops

ALBANY - State University of New York officials announced Thursday the 64-campus system's funding is $109 million less than originally expected, according to an article in the Poughkeepsie Journal.

Across-the-board spending reductions required by the recently enacted state budget will apply to revenues it collects from tuition, housing, SUNY hospitals and other services. That money is considered state revenue and has to be appropriated by the Legislature and governor, according to the report.

Gov. David Paterson has given commissioners and the schools a May 16 deadline for submitting plans on how they will change their budgets accordingly, according to the article

Paterson vetoes first bill

Gov. David A. his veto pen for the first time, according to the New York Times.

The legislation would have required smaller municipalities to hire a full-time police chief, even if they only have part-time police officers in their departments, the Times reported.

The bill was opposed by town and county officials, who said it amounted to yet another unfunded mandate that Albany policymakers wanted to impose on lower levels of government, according to the article.

Paterson removes member against toll hike

Gov. David Paterson has put his stamp on the state Thruway Authority Board of Directors, replacing a holdover Western New York appointee with one of his own picks, and in the process removing the only board member to vote against the proposed Thruway toll hikes, according to a Buffalo radio station report.

Paterson has appointed Donna Luh of Cheektowaga to replace Jeffrey Williams of Lewiston. During last year's hearings on the proposed Thruway toll hike, Williams was the only board member to vote against the budget and related hikes now under consideration, the report states.

The Thruway Authority floated a plan last month to increase cash tolls by 5 percent in 2009, and another 5 percent in 2010, according to the report.

The cash rate for a car driving from New York City to Williamsville, just outside Buffalo, is now $15.15 on the half-century old superhighway. When fully implemented, the trip will cost $18.36 when paying in cash, or $17.58 if paid through E-ZPass, according to the report.

Favorable outlook on Paterson

New Yorkers are optimistic that Gov. Paterson will succeed where Eliot Spitzer failed miserably — bringing a bipartisan spirit to state government, a new Siena College poll finds, according to a Daily News article.

According to the report:

*Nearly two out of three predicted Paterson will work cooperatively with both Republicans and his fellow Democrats in Albany.

*The survey also showed voters' honeymoon with Paterson — who took office March 17 in the wake of Spitzer's resignation - entering its second month, with 48 percent giving him a favorable rating, 18 percent unfavorable.

Paterson plans to seek election, orders hiring halt

Gov. David Paterson called for a hiring freeze on all nonessential state positions yesterday and earlier in the day hinted at retooling the state's popular property-tax-rebate program, according to an Albany media report.

In a letter yesterday to the head of state agencies, Paterson warned that only "job openings absolutely essential to your agency's operations and protecting the health and safety of New Yorkers are to be filled,” according to the article.

In yesterday's interview, Paterson said he also plans to seek election as governor in 2010.

Cut the budget by 10 percent next year?

Just a week after the current state budget was passed, Gov. David Paterson is pushing his idea to cut next year's state budget by 5 percent to 10 percent, according to the Associated Press.

The Democrat in just his fifth week in office said declining revenues in a recessionary economy will force “serious cutbacks” in a year, according to the report.

He said last week that the “hard-core cutting” will mean a 5 percent to 10 percent cut “off the top.” That's rare even for a pledge in Albany, where “cuts” usually refer to reduced growth in spending. Some recent budgets included spending increases near 10 percent, according to the article.

State assembly passes Earth Day agenda

In celebration of upcoming Earth Day, on Tuesday, the state Assembly passed nine measures designed to address some of the state’s most pressing environmental challenges, including efforts to help stop global warming, according to Environmental Advocates of New York.

The bills include two of the green community’s priority Super Bills—the Wetlands Protections Act and the Global Warming Pollution Cap, as well as a host of legislation designed to protect the health of our air, land and water, according to the group.

According to the group, some of the bills include:

* Smart Growth Infrastructure – This bill would protect New York’s previous natural and fiscal resources by requiring that our state agencies conduct, expand or reconstruct public infrastructure to comply with smart growth criteria.

* Global Warming Pollution Cap – This measure would reduce New York State’s climate change pollution from all sources gradually until overall greenhouse gas emissions are 80 percent below emissions for the year 1990.

* Plastic Bag Recycling – This bill would reduce the millions of single-use plastic bags filling our landfills and dotting our landscapes by requiring New York retailers to provide a location on premises or to facilitate the recycling of plastic shopping bags.

E-tax?

If New York goes through with its plan to make Amazon and other e-tailers collect sales tax from consumers, the state will almost certainly face a tough battle in court, legal experts say, according to MediaPostPublication.

The bill, passed recently by the state and awaiting signature by Gov. David Paterson, would require Web retailers that use in-state affiliates to collect New York sales tax, according to the report.

Amazon Director of Strategic Communications Craig Berman said the company was still reviewing the bill. "At this point, it would be premature for us to comment," he said in the article.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 16 years ago that states cannot require out-of-state retailers like catalog companies to collect sales tax unless they have a brick-and-mortar store or other physical presence in those states. But New York says it should be able to force companies that use affiliates in the state to collect taxes.