Today at an Assembly Republicans press conference on overhauling member item funding, Assemblyman Tom O’Mara (R,C-Horseheads) noted that it is day nine and little has changed. O’Mara was referring to Governor Spitzer’s campaign pledge that everything changes on ‘Day One.’ 

            “Today is ‘Day Nine’ and little has changed in the Assembly,” said Assemblyman O’Mara.  “Being called to session during the second week of January for one day is a waste of taxpayer money.  The Assembly should be spending this week working on passing the reform initiatives that Governor Spitzer is calling for.  Calling the Assembly into session for one day to welcome new members to the legislature is nice gesture, but one that should have been accompanied with a full legislative agenda.”

            Overhauling member item funding is one of the reforms that Governor Spitzer and the Assembly Republican conference are pushing for.

            “Today’s press conference on overhauling the member item process to create a more equitable system serves as a good way to push our conferences reform agenda,” remarked O’Mara.  “However, our constituents want more than press conferences on day nine, they want results.  To deliver the reforms that our conference, the governor and the people of New York want, Speaker Silver needs to call session for more than one day during the second week of January.”                 

“New York’s legislature has the distinction of being the most dysfunctional legislature in the nation.   Unfortunately, as of day nine, this reputation remains intact,” noted O’Mara. 

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