February 27, 2006

Chairman’s Statement Regarding Today’s Approval of the County’s Joint State Legislative Package

I’d like to commend and thank County Legislator Clinton Young, who just took over as chair of the Board’s Committee on Legislation this term, on leading the effort to develop an impressive and most importantly, a do-able legislative package.

The legislative package that the Committee is submitting to our state’s delegates is the result of a rigorous and productive give-and-take between the two branches of county government. By working in a cooperative, bipartisan fashion, Legislator Young succeeded in producing a legislative package that fairly balances the advocacy demands of both the legislative and executive branches of government.

The task of deciding what to ask our county’s state delegates to pursue aggressively in the upcoming legislative session is always a daunting one. This year proved no different. The Committee started with a wide ranging list of about one hundred items that came from legislators as well as the County Executive’s office. All of the items are important and the challenge every year is to prioritize and submit those items that are not only critical to the welfare of Westchester residents but also will have the greatest chance of passage this term.

The Committee succeeded in leading the effort to find consensus on the legislative items that we will now press our state delegates to act on.