Op-Ed from Assemblyman Joe DeStefano
Albany—The closing of the 2024 Legislative Session looked a lot like the end of many that have come before it; a lot of bills were passed—many in the dead of night—while measures New Yorkers actually needed to see with respect to public safety, out-migration, and affordability were left out.
The fentanyl crisis, crime, and the weak criminal justice system remain persistent problems. The migrant crisis brought an unbelievable $2.4 billion bill to the hard-working residents of this state, and there’s no end in sight to the Sanctuary State policy. Taxes and fees remain oppressive, and a great majority of New Yorkers are not happy with the direction of the state. Failure to address these problems with direct, targeted legislation makes little sense and ignores the concerns of millions of citizens, many of whom voted with their feet and moved away.
The Republicans repeatedly asked their colleagues on the other side of the aisle a simple question: When New York leads the country in residents leaving for other states, does that mean our policies are working, or do we need a dramatic course correction? The answer seems obvious to everyone except the Democrats who control the legislative process.
Instead of making everyday life more affordable, the Progressive Left pushed environmental policies that will dramatically raise consumer rates while doing little to improve the environment. Instead of making comprehensive changes to their bad criminal justice policies, such as cashless bail, defunding the police, or the revolving parole system, Democrats passed a meaningless bill on retail theft. And instead of offering some form of widespread tax relief to overburdened New Yorkers, they raised state spending to a record high $239.2 billion in a budget they pushed through in the dark of night.
With the Democrats in charge, New York’s problems are not going away. But Assembly Republicans will continue to push our colleagues, the governor, and our Senate counterparts to fix what is broken.
No legislative session is going to be perfect. My growing concern is that the proposals New Yorkers want to see passed are not only being rejected, but the problems they aim to address are not even on the Democrats’ radar. There was not only a lack of effort on their part but a lack of understanding. After six months of debates and voting, New York is still not headed in the right direction.
Fortunately, the end of the session does not mean our work is over, and my colleagues and I will continue our fight for measures that will put our state on a better path.