Governor Spitzer delivers State of the State address at legislative session

On January 9th, governor Spitzer commenced the 2008 legislative session by delivering his 2nd State of the State address. The governor reflected on what he views as his administrations' key accomplishments: revamping the state's worker's compensation system; initiation of a stem cell research fund; imposing cost controls in the Medicaid program; and enacting new ethics laws. The governor outlined several ambitious goals, both administrative and legislative, including: Property Taxes * Spitzer has called for the creation of a bipartisan commission to study the state's property tax issue. The commission will be charged with returning recommendations regarding: i) a fair tax cap for school taxes; ii) reforms that address the root causes driving property taxes higher; and iii) reforms to make the system fairer to the middle class. Higher Education Initiatives * Increase by 2,000 the number of new full-time faculty for SUNY and CUNY, including 250 eminent scholars to draw grants and collaboration from around the world. * Creation of a $4 billion special fund for the state's public higher education system to generate $200 million in additional revenues for the schools. Economic Development * The governor's message calls for the state to reduce the tax burden on N.Y. families, break ground on key infrastructure projects, make major and immediate investments in upstate N.Y. * The governor calls for a $1 billion "Upstate Revitalization Fund" to meet upstate's most urgent needs including brownfield cleanup, revitalization of parks, farms, and inner cities. * Spitzer calls for making significant investments in key infrastructure projects across the state. * Continuation of the AIM program which links aid to cities in exchange for fiscal accountability.  Health Care * Spitzer proposes a "Doctors Across New York Plan" which would provide financial reimbursement to doctors committed to working in underserved areas.  * Funding for expansion of Child Health Plus, increasing the income eligibility level from 250% to 400% of the federal poverty level.  * The Dept. of Health will begin to phase in "service intensity weights" to determine payments for inpatient services at hospitals based on diagnosis. * Spitzer will continue efforts to invest in stem cell research. * N.Y. should adopt the "Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act." * The governor will submit similar legislation with the executive budget, but this time it will accommodate many of the recommendations made by the legislature during last year's debate regarding the topic of healthy schools. Implementing dietary standards, for foods that are available in schools, which keep in the state's goal of curbing childhood obesity. * Increase funding for Diabetes Self-Management Education. * The Dept. of Health will award $100 million as part of the HEAL NY Health IT grant program. * Reform of Medicaid reimbursement rates. Subprime Mortgage Initiative Spitzer will propose legislation which would require lenders to: * Notify consumers 60 days before the start of the foreclosure process. * Provide information to the borrower of available counseling services to avoid foreclosure. * Ensure borrowers can repay the loan and act in the borrower's best interest. The governor also plans to introduce legislation that enhances anti-fraud laws in an effort to ensure that those who engage in mortgage scams are punished. Energy The governor proposes to expand the state's solar net metering law to apply to businesses; increase the size of eligible solar PV systems to 25kW for residential customers and to two emegawatts for commercial customers; and increase to 1% of a utility's load, the maximum amount of electricity that the utility would be required to buy back. Wicks Law * A three-tiered threshold system to take into consideration the geographic differences in the cost of construction. * More subcontractor protections. * Local government procurement reforms. The address made only brief mention of the state's current fiscal condition which budget experts' estimate will include a $4.3 billion deficit. The governor is expected to provide more details on the state's fiscal condition with the formal presentation of his 2008-09 executive budget proposal.  Information provided by Builder Partners.