It's back to school for most elementary and secondary students this week and I wishing all a wonderful start for productive and exciting school year! Please remember to slow down for students who are walking, biking, or taking a bus. To promote a safe,...

As part of Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie’s Upstate tour this summer, the Speaker joined both Assemblymember McDonald and I in a joint tour of the 108th and 109th districts last Thursday. Starting out in the 108th at the Cohoes Falls before venturing...

As we move into the dog days of summer in August, there are a number of brief updates I wanted to share for you and your family. Citizen Preparedness Training. Gov. Cuomo will be hosting a Citizen Preparedness Corps Training Program event on Tuesday,...

It was an honor to join the Guilderland family of Lt. Col. Clark along with the family's friends, veterans, Senator George Amedore, Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy, and Guilderland Town Supervisor Kenneth Runion to commemorate the extraordinary...

Tomorrow, Wednesday, July 15 at 2 p.m., you are invited to join us for a ceremony to honor Lieutenant Colonel Todd J. Clark at Guilderland Town Hall (5209 Western Turnpike, Guilderland). A portion of State Route 146 in the Town of Guilderland, Albany...

Hope everyone had a wonderful Independence Day weekend. Here are a few updates from my office: Sexual assault legislation signed by Governor Cuomo. Proud to support the sexual assault legislation -- a good compromise, which I hope will go a long way...

I join with others in applauding the Supreme Court’s decision on Marriage Equality and recognizing what New York State has known for the last several years: legalizing same sex marriage is a matter of justice. I am proud our nation has finally embraced...

This week marks the scheduled end of the legislative session this year. Although many important ("big ugly") issues remain unresolved as of this newsletter, it is expected that both the Assembly and the Senate will reconvene in session next Tuesday in...

Education legislation (A.7303-A) passed overwhelmingly earlier this week to provide more time to devise and implement a new teacher and principal evaluation system, to protect vital funding for our schools, and to ensure that state assessments are grade-level...

With five weeks left of session, the pace of work in the Assembly has intensified in an effort to move legislation on a host of bills I have sponsored relating to economic development, environmental protection, and education. Readability levels of state...

As reported in the Albany Times Union, the federal government has skipped the Capital Region in a list of “high-threat urban areas” that limits the speed of oil trains to no more than 40 mph – even though the Port of Albany has been nationally recognized...

With spring weather finally emerging after a long winter, there are a number of environmental-focused events and activities to coincide with Earth Day this month. Earlier this month, I noted that in this year’s 2015-2016 budget, the Environmental Protection...

The 2015-2016 enacted budget includes a host of increased funds and opportunities for residents, businesses, and schools in New York State. Agriculture, economic development, family and child assistance, and more have seen aid increases for this upcoming...

Over the past few months, the Assembly was faced with the challenging task of negotiating a series of highly controversial education proposals tied to state education aid in the Governor’s budget with general support in State Senate. The budget passed...

The Assembly's one-house 2015-16 Budget Resolution was passed last week and budget negotiations with the Senate and Governor begin in earnest this week with the goal of passing a final bill by April 1st. Highlights from the Assembly version include: Investing...