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Legislature moves toward adjourning with several major issues unresolved
Posted at: 06/20/2012 5:00 PM
| Updated at: 06/20/2012 6:33 PM
By: Bill Lambdin
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ALBANY - The Governor told reporters he did not expect action on two of his remaining priorities, restricting the full release of the new teacher evaluations and decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana.
He did not mention one of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's priorities, raising the New York minimum wage to 8-50 an hour, which is shared by a coalition of progressive organizations.
They told reporters Wednesday afternoon that raising the minimum wage and reducing the corrosive effects of huge, unlimited campaign contributions need official attention and support.
"This money doesn't just buy elections, it buys our policies," said Susan Weber of Move On. "It buys the policies of this country."
As the Assembly met in early afternoon, occasional loud cheers could be heard wafting into the chamber.
Anti-fracking advocates were demonstrating on the Million Dollar staircase between the third and fourth floors, concerned about a Cuomo administration trial balloon that would allow fracking in five Southern Tier counties as a type of demonstration project to see if it could be permitted more widely.
"Numerous scientific concerns that have been raised in thousands of comments submitted by our groups and others remain as yet unanswered by DEC," said Katherine Hudson of Riverkeeper.
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