Assemblymember Robert Smullen shares plan to 'jump start New York' as part of coronavirus response By Luke Perry
Assemblymember Robert Smullen (R, District 118) called for the New York State legislature to be more engaged in policy debates surrounding the health crisis. “I think it’s very critical that the legislature get back to work,” Smullen told Talk of the Town (WUTQ in Utica).
“We could be up to $10 to 12 billion short” in revenue to fund the state budget. “That is a serious public policy issue that the legislature needs to weigh in as well as the executive,” said Smullen, who wants to get “that conversation going as quickly as possible.”
Smullen called for the state to “immediately reevaluate nonessential businesses,” region by region, not within a multi-state compact. This would better serve New York, given its large size.
“Where possible, as quickly as possible, as safely, and necessary by health officials,” Smullen wants “to make sure we can get people back to work because we are doing lasting economic damage that no amount of federal or state involvement can help.”
Photo from flickr
Farmers are a major focus. The Farm Labors Fair Labor Practices Act of 2019 enabled farm laborers to unionize and receive over time compensation. Smullen favors suspending these regulations for one year.
Milk dumping is another issue. “We’ve got a huge problem with milk dumping going on,” Smullen said. “That needs to be corrected right away.”
Some estimates suggest that low demand leads New York dairy farmers to dump 35 million pounds of raw milk in a given week during the coronavirus pandemic.
Smullen said state legislators have appealed directly to President Trump and there may be $19 billion in federal farm aid that “could be coming to help.”
Smullen has helped to develop Jump Start New York, a legislative initiative to address these issues, and increase the focus on assisting small businesses, which number 600,000 statewide and employ 4.2 million people, over half of the state’s workforce.
The initiative seeks to provide a “blueprint for economic relief in the short term and much needed stability in the long term.” Proposals include reducing regulations, having New York State provide recovery loans to for-profit and non-profit businesses, utilizing regional economic development councils for disaster relief, and re-purposing capital programs for economic development.
Luke Perry (@PolSciLukePerry) is Professor of Government at Utica College
