State Senator Rob Ortt (R,C,I – North Tonawanda) offered the following statement regarding the 2015 legislative session.

“I believe the 2015 legislative session, now officially concluded, was a mix both personally and for the Western New Yorkers that I represent. There have been significant victories for our region on tax relief, education, and job creation. Our unwavering commitment to protecting the property tax cap – and keeping state spending under a similar cap – will result in larger property tax relief checks and record funding for STAR and Enhanced STAR. We also secured a key victory for Western New York children, parents, and teachers through record investments in our schools as well as common sense policies to ensure transparency and fairness in student testing and teacher evaluations. We’ve also prioritized local job creation by taking important steps to strengthen agriculture, redevelop brownfields, reduce energy rates, fund infrastructure, and expand green technology. In other areas, we increased critical services to veterans returning from combat, children without adequate health care, women subjected to rape and domestic violence, victims of mental illness, and individuals and families affected by disabilities. Stricter measures against drug dealers and sex offenders will keep our families and communities safe.

“But I’m also extremely disappointed in the actions – or inaction – taken by the New York City-dominated Assembly and a downstate liberal Governor on key issues. The Governor and Assembly walked away from most of our common sense reforms to the unconstitutional SAFE Act. The Governor threatened to shut down government unless legislators accepted his divisive education proposals. He has also vowed to proceed unilaterally on controversial issues like mandating a minimum wage that’s unacceptable to our small businesses and non-profits and appointing a special prosecutor to investigate our police officers.

“Despite the progress, I’m not ready to declare victory, because we still have a lot of work ahead of us to revitalize Western New York and fight back against the destructive policies of downstate politicians and special interests.”