2010 Voter's Guide

2010Voter’s Guide

New Yorkers for Better Libraries P.O. Box 795, Canton, NY 13617www.nylibs-pac.net

The library advocate’s guide to the voting records of the New York State Legislature

The library advocate’s guide to the voting records of the New York State Legislature

“Information is the currency of Democracy”Thomas Jefferson

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P.O. Box 795, Canton, NY 13617www.nylibs-pac.net

Table of Contents

3 ............... About New Yorkers for Better Libraries

4 ............... Bill Summaries

6 ............... Legislators of Special Distinction (Best and Worst Voting Records)

6 ............... How Scores Are Calculated

7 ............... Assembly Scores

10 ............. Senate Scores


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The New Yorkers for Better Libraries Political Action Committee was established in 2003 by library leaders who believe that there is a need to supplement the library community’s advocacy efforts with campaign contributions directed toward those in Albany who can really help libraries.

Beginning in 2010, the New Yorkers for Better Libraries PAC initiated a program of legislative accountability.

Statement Concerning Legislative AccountabilityThe following letter was mailed to each member of the New York State Legislature in February, 2010:

The New Yorkers for Better Libraries Political Action Com-mittee (NYLIBS-PAC) was formed eight years ago by library advo-cates who believe that state support for library services is essential to all New Yorkers.

We are very disappointed that libraries have received four cuts in state aid in the past 21 months, with a fifth cut now under con-sideration. These reductions have sent state aid for libraries back to the same level received in 1998. We understand that New York State is experiencing financial difficulties and are aware that many vital services must sustain cuts. However, there has to be some equity in this process: libraries have been cut disproportionately when compared to other state services. The state budget has in-creased by 82% over the past ten years. Libraries did not benefit from this. In the past six years, school aid has increased by 47% and aid to municipalities has increased by 62%, but library aid has reverted to the dollar amount received a dozen years ago.

About New Yorkers for Better Libraries

A core recipient of state aid are our library systems, which serve all types of libraries and are the backbone for the collabora-tive efforts and resource sharing programs that make libraries one of the most cost-effective services provided to the public.

NYLIBS-PAC has determined that there is a need for greater accountability concerning state legislators’ actions on issues of im-portance to the library community and the millions of library users and voters throughout the state.

Effective this Legislative Session, the NYLIBS-PAC will begin to track library-related state legislation and will publish a report card/voters guide concerning each state legislator’s degree of sup-port for libraries. Sponsorship and co-sponsorship of legislation, votes on library legislation and funding will be the primary indica-tors that the PAC will assess.

This report card will be distributed to libraries throughout the state, the media and the general public.

We look forward to working with you during this Legislative Session to address the needs of New York’s libraries.


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Restore Library Aid Cuts in 2010-2011 State Budgets (funding not restored)In spite of an outpouring of public support for libraries, the NYS Legislature chose to take yet another bite out of state aid to librar-ies this summer. This 3.8% cut comes on the heels of four prior cuts over the last two years that represent an aggregated reduction of 19% and an actual loss of more than $38 million.

On the positive side, the state’s allocation of $14 million for public library construction, which comes from the sale of bonds, was not reduced. Cooperative Bidding for Public Libraries and Library Systems (Signed Into law – Chapter 385)This legislation (S.3903 Oppenheimer/A.6154 Paulin) adds public libraries and library systems to list of public entities, like cit-ies, towns, villages, BOCES, school districts, that are allowed to engage in cooperative bidding. Cooperative bidding saves library systems, libraries and taxpayer money by pooling resources to pur-chase services and products.

Tax –Check off to Support Summer Reading (Vetoed #6754)This bill ( S.7551 Oppenheimer/A.7253 Galef)would allow state personal and corporate income tax payers to make contribution to “Love Your Library Fund” which supports the statewide Summer Reading Program.

BOCES-Libraries Internet Partnerships (Passed Senate 3/15 – Held in Assembly Ways & Means 6/16)This bill (S.4634 Oppenheimer/A.8673 Gunther) would autho-rize BOCES to contract with public libraries or library systems for internet services. By allowing libraries these partnerships, librar-ies can offer higher speed internet access at a lower cost to their patrons.

Bill Summaries


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Public Library Systems Eligible for Local Government Efficiency Grants (Passed Senate 6/3 – Held in Assembly Ways & Means 4/20)The bill (S.6875A Oppenheimer/A.10412 Bing) would expand eligibility to apply for local government efficiency grants to in-clude public library systems. Currently libraries, but not library systems, are allowed to apply. Library systems engage in a variety of cooperative and shared-service arrangements that could benefit from this program and therefore further save their libraries and taxpayers money.

Public Library Construction Grants (Held in Assembly Ways & Means – No Action in Senate)This legislation (S.4248 Aubertine/A.6155 Paulin) would modify the public library construction grant program to enable grants to be used to purchase vacant land as well as lower local match to 25% of project costs for libraries in high need areas. Many public libraries around the state cannot afford the current match of 50% towards a construction project and therefore have limited access to these funds.

Cultural Education Fund (Held in Senate Rules 6/15 – Held in Assembly Ways & Means 7/1)The bill (S.3640A Oppenheimer/A.6783A Englebright) would re-plenish the fund that supports the operations of the New York State Library, Museum and Archives by raising the filing fees that local governments and courts charge from $15 to $22.50. The fund has been depleted due to the downturn in the economy and previous sweepings of the fund to support other state operations.

Bill Summaries


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Restore Library Aid Cuts in 2010-2011

State Budgets

(funding not restored)Legislators of Special DistinctionEx Libris Award for Legislator(s) with Best Voting Record on Library IssuesSenator Suzi Oppenheimer wins the Ex Libris Award for sponsoring five of our library priority bills, obtaining the passage of two and making a valiant effort to restore Library Aid.

Fahrenheit 451 Award for Legislator(s) with Worst Voting Record on Library IssuesThe New York State Assembly receives this award as a whole for their convoluted and bureaucratic process that prevents common sense, cost savings measures from coming up for a vote.

How Scores Are CalculatedLegislators are scored based on the following criteria:

Library Aid in State BudgetLegislators receive +50 points for voting in favor of final budget that restores state aid to libraries to its former levels.

Sponsoring/Co-Sponsoring Library Priority LegislationLegislators receive +10 points for sponsoring or +5 points for co-sponsoring library priority legislation.

Votes on Library LegislationLegislators receive +15 points for each vote in favor of a library priority bill that passes either the Senate or Assembly.

GradesA – 90 points or higherB – 75 -89 pointsC – 60-74 pointsD – 45-59 pointsF – Below 45 points


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Peter J. Abbate, Jr. 0 15 5 15 35 FMarc S. Alessi 0 20 15 35 FTom Alfano 0 15 20 35 FGeorge Amedore 0 15 15 30 FCarmen E. Arroyo 0 0 15 15 FJeffrion L. Aubry 0 0 15 15 FJim Bacalles 0 15 20 35 FGreg Ball 0 15 0 15 FWilliam A. Barclay 0 15 5 15 35 FBob Barra 0 15 20 35 FInez D. Barron 0 15 20 35 FMichael Benedetto 0 15 0 15 FMichael Benjamin 0 15 20 35 FJonathan L. Bing 0 20 5 10 20 5 60 CWilliam F. Boyland, Jr. 0 15 5 5 25 FPhilip Boyle 0 15 15 30 FJames F. Brennan 0 20 0 20 FRichard L. Brodsky 0 15 0 15 FAlec Brook-Krasny 0 15 15 30 FDaniel J. Burling 0 15 15 30 FMarc W. Butler 0 15 15 30 FKevin A. Cahill 0 20 5 5 5 15 50 DNancy Calhoun 0 15 0 15 FKarim Camara 0 15 15 30 FRon Canestrari 0 15 20 35 FAnn-Margaret Carrozza 0 0 0 0 FRobert J. Castelli 0 15 15 30 FNelson L. Castro 0 15 20 35 FJoan K. Christensen 0 20 5 0 25 FBarbara M. Clark 0 15 20 35 FWilliam Colton 0 15 20 35 FJames D. Conte 0 15 15 30 FVivian E. Cook 0 0 0 0 FJane L. Corwin 0 15 20 35 FMarcos A. Crespo 0 15 5 15 35 FClifford W. Crouch 0 15 15 30 FMichael Cusick 0 0 15 15 FSteven Cymbrowitz 0 15 15 30 FFrancine DelMonte 0 20 5 20 45 DMichael G. DenDekker 0 15 5 15 35 FRoAnn M. Destito 0 20 5 5 5 15 50 DJeffrey Dinowitz 0 15 20 35 FJanet L. Duprey 0 15 20 35 FSteve Englebright 0 20 5 15 10 50 DJoseph A. Errigo 0 15 15 30 FAdriano Espaillat 0 15 20 35 FHerman D. Farrell, Jr. 0 15 15 30 FGinny Fields 0 20 15 35 FGary D. Finch 0 15 5 20 FMichael J. Fitzpatrick 0 15 15 30 FDennis H. Gabryszak 0 20 5 20 45 D

GradeTotal

Cultural Education Fund

(S.3640A Oppenheimer/A.6783A Englebright)

(Held in Senate Rules Held in Assembly W

ays & Means)

Tax –Check off to Support Summ

er Reading

( S.7551 Oppenheimer/A.7253 Galef)

(Vetoed #6754)

BOCES-Libraries Internet Partnerships

(S.4634 Oppenheimer/A.8673 Gunther)

(Passed Senate Held in Assembly W

ays & Means)

Public Library Construction Grants

(S.4248 Aubertine/A.6155 Paulin)

(Held in Assembly W

ays & Means – No Action in Senate)

Cooperative Bidding for Public Libraries

and Library Systems

(S.3903 Oppenheimer/A.6154 Paulin)

(Signed Into law – Chapter 385)


State Budgets

(funding not restored)

Assembly scores Public Library System

s Eligible for Local

Government Efficiency Grants

(S.6875A Oppenheimer/A.10412 Bing)


ays & Means)


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Assembly scores

Sandy Galef 0 20 5 25 50 DDavid F. Gantt 0 15 0 15 FMichael N. Gianaris 0 15 15 30 FVanessa L. Gibson 0 15 15 30 FJoe Giglio 0 15 20 35 FDeborah J. Glick 0 15 5 15 35 FTim Gordon 0 20 5 15 40 FRichard N. Gottfried 0 20 5 5 5 0 35 FAileen M. Gunther 0 20 5 5 10 5 45 DStephen Hawley 0 15 20 35 FJim Hayes 0 15 0 15 FCarl E. Heastie 0 15 15 30 FAndrew Hevesi 0 15 15 30 FDov Hikind 0 15 15 30 FEarlene Hooper 0 15 15 30 FSam Hoyt 0 15 15 30 FJanele Hyer-Spencer 0 15 5 15 35 FRhoda Jacobs 0 15 15 30 FEllen Jaffee 0 20 5 5 5 15 5 55 DHakeem Jeffries 0 15 5 0 20 FSusan V. John 0 15 15 30 FTony Jordan 0 20 15 35 FBrian Kavanagh 0 15 0 15 FMicah Kellner 0 15 15 30 FBrian M. Kolb 0 15 15 30 FDavid Koon 0 15 5 20 40 FRory I. Lancman 0 15 15 30 FGeorge S. Latimer 0 15 15 30 FCharles D. Lavine 0 15 20 35 FJoseph R. Lentol 0 15 15 30 FBarbara Lifton 0 20 5 5 15 45 DPeter D. Lopez 0 20 5 20 45 DVito J. Lopez 0 5 5 15 25 FDonna A. Lupardo 0 20 5 5 5 15 5 55 DWilliam Magee 0 15 20 35 FWilliam B. Magnarelli 0 20 15 35 FAlan Maisel 0 15 20 35 FMargaret M. Markey 0 0 5 15 20 FNettie Mayersohn 0 15 5 20 40 FDavid G. McDonough 0 20 15 35 FJohn J. McEneny 0 20 5 5 20 5 55 DTom McKevitt 0 15 20 35 FGrace Meng 0 15 15 30 FJoel M. Miller 0 15 20 35 FMichael Miller 0 15 15 30 FJoan L. Millman 0 15 5 5 20 45 DMarcus Molinaro 0 20 5 5 5 20 55 DMichael Montesano 0 20 15 35 FJoseph D. Morelle 0 15 15 30 F

GradeTotal




ays & Means)


er Reading


(Vetoed #6754)




ays & Means)



(Held in Assembly W



and Library Systems




State Budgets


Public Library Systems Eligible for Local




ays & Means)


State Budgets



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Assembly scores

Dean Murray 0 5 15 20 FCatherine Nolan 0 15 15 30 FDaniel J. O’Donnell 0 15 15 30 FThomas F. O’Mara 0 15 15 30 FBob Oaks 0 15 15 30 FFélix Ortiz 0 15 5 20 40 FWilliam L. Parment 0 15 15 30 FAmy Paulin 0 25 10 5 5 45 DCrystal D. Peoples-Stokes 0 15 20 35 FN. Nick Perry 0 20 5 5 5 20 5 60 CAudrey I. Pheffer 0 20 5 5 20 5 55 DAdam Clayton Powell, IV 0 15 15 30 FJ. Gary Pretlow 0 15 15 30 FJack Quinn 0 15 15 30 FAnnie Rabbitt 0 15 15 30 FAndrew P. Raia 0 20 5 5 5 20 55 DPhil Ramos 0 15 15 30 FBill Reilich 0 15 15 30 FBob Reilly 0 20 5 5 20 50 DJose Rivera 0 15 5 20 40 FNaomi Rivera 0 0 20 20 FPeter M. Rivera 0 15 20 35 FAnnette Robinson 0 5 5 5 20 35 FLinda B. Rosenthal 0 15 15 5 35 FAddie J. Russell 0 20 5 15 40 FJoseph S. Saladino 0 20 15 35 FTeresa R. Sayward 0 15 20 35 FWilliam Scarborough 0 15 0 15 FMichelle Schimel 0 20 5 15 5 45 DRobin Schimminger 0 15 5 20 40 FMark J. F. Schroeder 0 20 5 20 45 DDede Scozzafava 0 15 15 30 FSheldon Silver 0 15 15 30 FFrank K. Skartados 0 15 15 30 FMike Spano 0 20 5 5 20 50 DAl Stirpe 0 15 5 0 5 25 FRobert K. Sweeney 0 20 5 5 5 20 5 60 CJames Tedisco 0 15 15 30 FFred W. Thiele, Jr. 0 15 5 20 40 FMatthew Titone 0 15 15 30 FMichele R. Titus 0 15 5 15 35 FLou Tobacco 0 15 15 30 FDarryl C. Towns 0 15 15 30 FDavid R. Townsend 0 15 5 20 FHelene E. Weinstein 0 15 0 15 DHarvey Weisenberg 0 20 5 5 20 5 55 DDavid I. Weprin 0 15 15 30 FKeith L.T. Wright 0 15 15 30 FKenneth Zebrowski 0 20 5 15 40 F

GradeTotal




ays & Means)


er Reading


(Vetoed #6754)




ays & Means)



(Held in Assembly W



and Library Systems




State Budgets






ays & Means)


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Senate scores

Eric L. Adams 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CJoseph P. Addabbo Jr. 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CJames S. Alesi 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CDarrel J. Aubertine 0 15 10 15 15 15 70 CJohn J. Bonacic 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CNeil D. Breslin 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CJohn A. DeFrancisco 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CRuben Diaz, Sr. 0 15 0 15 20 15 5 70 CMartin Malave Dilan 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CThomas K. Duane 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CPedro Espada, Jr. 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CHugh T. Farley 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CJohn J. Flanagan 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CBrian X. Foley 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CCharles J. Fuschillo, Jr. 0 0 0 15 15 15 45 FMartin J. Golden 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CJoseph A. Griffo 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CKemp Hannon 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CRuth Hassell-Thompson 0 20 0 15 15 15 65 CShirley L. Huntley 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CCraig M. Johnson 0 20 0 15 15 15 65 COwen H. Johnson 0 15 0 20 15 15 65 CJeffrey D. Klein 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CLiz Krueger 0 20 0 15 15 15 65 CCarl Kruger 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CAndrew J. Lanza 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CWilliam J. Larkin, Jr. 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CKenneth P. LaValle 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CVincent L. Leibell, III 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CThomas W. Libous 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CElizabeth Little 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CCarl L. Marcellino 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CGeorge D. Maziarz 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CRoy McDonald 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CVelmanette Montgomery 0 15 0 15 20 15 65 CMichael F. Nozzolio 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CGeorge Onorato 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CSuzi Oppenheimer 0 25 0 25 25 25 10 110 A+Frank Padavan 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CKevin S. Parker 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CJose Peralta 0 15 0 15 0 15 45 DBill A. Perkins 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CMichael Ranzenhofer 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CJoseph E. Robach 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CStephen M. Saland 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CJohn L. Sampson 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CDiane J. Savino 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 C

GradeTotal




ays & Means)


er Reading


(Vetoed #6754)




ays & Means)



(Held in Assembly W



and Library Systems




State Budgets






ays & Means)


State Budgets



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Yes, I am a library advocate and I support New Yorkers for Better Libraries.

I would like to make a special contribution in the amount of:

o $25 o $50 o $75 o $100 o $250 Other $

Name:

Address:

City: State: Zip:

Phone: Email:

Credit card type (circle): MC VISA DISC

Number: Exp. Date:

Senate scores

Eric T. Schneiderman 0 15 0 15 20 15 5 70 CJose M. Serrano 0 15 0 15 15 15 5 65 CJames L. Seward 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CDean G. Skelos 0 15 0 0 15 15 45 FMalcolm A. Smith 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CDaniel L. Squadron 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CWilliam T. Stachowski 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CToby Ann Stavisky 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CAndrea A. Stewart-Cousins 0 15 0 15 15 15 5 65 CAntoine M. Thompson 0 20 0 20 20 15 75 BDavid J. Valesky 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CDale M. Volker 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CGeorge H. Winner, Jr. 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 CCatherine M. Young 0 15 0 15 15 15 60 C

GradeTotal




ays & Means)


er Reading


(Vetoed #6754)




ays & Means)



(Held in Assembly W



and Library Systems




State Budgets






ays & Means)

New Yorkers for Better LibrariesP.O. Box 795, Canton, NY 13617

www.nylibs-pac.net

2010 Voter's Guide

Documents

Transcript of 2010 Voter's Guide