Molitor and Borrello Discuss Albany Matters in State of the State Legislature

An ever-increasing state budget, affordability, and policies out of Albany were among the topics that Chautauqua County's two state lawmakers discussed Wednesday morning at an event in the Dunkirk area. Senator George Borrello and Assemblyman Andrew Molitor were the guests at CHQ Chamber's State of the State Legislature at Shorewood Country Club. Regarding the $277 billion spending plan, Molitor spoke about trends, including increases in spending and policy items...

Andrew Molitor: $18 billion increase from Hochul's original proposal

Molitor says he and Borrello were able to secure some "wins" in the budget, particularly when it came to policies affecting businesses and the community...

Andrew Molitor: trended back toward the middle this year

However, Borrello says many of those positives -- including the delay of climate mandates -- were "election year wins." Criticisms of this year's budget process Borrello highlighted include the fact that of more than 1,000 bills that were acted on during the final six days of this year's legislative session, over half contained a message of necessity, which allows bills to be fast-tracked...

George Borrello: irresponsible to not properly vet legislation

Those bills were acted on after the budget was finalized in late May, nearly two months after it was due. Other topics that were brought up during Wednesday's event included data centers, Medicaid, and consolidations.

Photos by Greg Larson