Desertdog
Member
I noticed they said MAY, not will. Keep the pressure up on them.
N.Y. may hold line on some new fees
Handgun, sports increases opposed
BY YANCEY ROY
Albany Bureau
http://www.pressconnects.com/today/news/stories/ne020404s65372.shtml
ALBANY -- The leader of the state Senate on Tuesday threw cold water on the idea of dramatically hiking fees on handgun permits and sports tickets, saying it would be counterproductive.
Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno said many of the $1.1 billion in fees and tax hikes proposed by Gov. George E. Pataki may prove unnecessary.
That's because the improving stock market may lower New York's budget gap to $4 billion instead of an estimated $5 billion by March 31, the end of the fiscal year.
Pataki has proposed a slew of fee increases, from snowmobile and all-terrain vehicle permits to alcoholic-beverage licenses to civil-service exam costs.
People would pay $2.25 apiece for the privilege of disposing of old tires.
The leader of the state Assembly has criticized the fee proposals.
Bruno went further, singling out the handgun fee as unnecessary.
Under Pataki's plan, pistol owners would have to pay a $100 fee and renew their license every five years. Currently, a gun owner has to qualify only once.
"That hits over a million upstaters annually," said Bruno, R-Brunswick, Rensselaer County. "They're law-abiding citizens. They've qualified for the license, which is hard to do. And I'm not sure we should be escalating the costs."
Asked about a 4 percent charge on sports and entertainment tickets, Bruno said: "I think we're going to take a look at all of those because they may be counterproductive. ... We're going to be looking at some of those fees specifically to eliminate them."
Bruno said the budget gap may wind up being smaller than Pataki projected, giving lawmakers more leeway in developing a budget, which is supposed to be done by April 1.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver hasn't specifically ruled out any of the fee hikes. "But he has said a lot of these are unfair," Silver spokesman Charles Carrier said. "These things hit everybody, especially working families."
Pataki, speaking at a conference of the state Association of Counties, said that the $99.8 billion budget wasn't delivered as an ultimatum.
Without addressing fees directly, the governor said he wanted to work cooperatively with the Legislature to craft a financial plan
N.Y. may hold line on some new fees
Handgun, sports increases opposed
BY YANCEY ROY
Albany Bureau
http://www.pressconnects.com/today/news/stories/ne020404s65372.shtml
ALBANY -- The leader of the state Senate on Tuesday threw cold water on the idea of dramatically hiking fees on handgun permits and sports tickets, saying it would be counterproductive.
Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno said many of the $1.1 billion in fees and tax hikes proposed by Gov. George E. Pataki may prove unnecessary.
That's because the improving stock market may lower New York's budget gap to $4 billion instead of an estimated $5 billion by March 31, the end of the fiscal year.
Pataki has proposed a slew of fee increases, from snowmobile and all-terrain vehicle permits to alcoholic-beverage licenses to civil-service exam costs.
People would pay $2.25 apiece for the privilege of disposing of old tires.
The leader of the state Assembly has criticized the fee proposals.
Bruno went further, singling out the handgun fee as unnecessary.
Under Pataki's plan, pistol owners would have to pay a $100 fee and renew their license every five years. Currently, a gun owner has to qualify only once.
"That hits over a million upstaters annually," said Bruno, R-Brunswick, Rensselaer County. "They're law-abiding citizens. They've qualified for the license, which is hard to do. And I'm not sure we should be escalating the costs."
Asked about a 4 percent charge on sports and entertainment tickets, Bruno said: "I think we're going to take a look at all of those because they may be counterproductive. ... We're going to be looking at some of those fees specifically to eliminate them."
Bruno said the budget gap may wind up being smaller than Pataki projected, giving lawmakers more leeway in developing a budget, which is supposed to be done by April 1.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver hasn't specifically ruled out any of the fee hikes. "But he has said a lot of these are unfair," Silver spokesman Charles Carrier said. "These things hit everybody, especially working families."
Pataki, speaking at a conference of the state Association of Counties, said that the $99.8 billion budget wasn't delivered as an ultimatum.
Without addressing fees directly, the governor said he wanted to work cooperatively with the Legislature to craft a financial plan
