Since the beginning of 2022, my office has been hearing nonstop from Central Hudson customers with a range of billing problems, including missing or wildly inaccurate bills. One resident received a bill for $700,000! Others had not received a bill for more than four months. 

Customers are calling Central Hudson only to be told that their name or account number did not exist in Central Hudson’s system.

On March 3rd, I held an online forum with Central Hudson so constituents could voice their concerns directly. Shortly afterward, I introduced legislation to limit how when a utility could issue estimated bills. On April 21st, I held another forum with the Public Utility Law Project so that consumers would know their rights in the face of these outrageous bills.

Central Hudson said the billing problems were due to new software. They also said that they wanted to eliminate estimated billing.

On May 31st, I wrote to Central Hudson to find out if its billing software problems have been resolved. I also asked when they would do away with estimated billing.

Central Hudson did not respond so on July 5th, I wrote to the Public Service Commission (PSC) requesting that it open an investigation into Central Hudson’s billing practices. The PSC agreed to open the probe.

I finally heard from Central Hudson which responded with many excuses and few solid answers. 

I will keep you informed on the progress of solving this problem.  In the meantime, if you are still having problems with Central Hudson, please contact either one of my district offices.

I won’t stop fighting until Central Hudson gets its billing act together!

The Supreme Court has once again shown it is out of touch with the majority of Americans in its decision overturning Roe v. Wade, a nearly 50-year precedent that provided Constitutional protections for the right to an abortion.

In 2019, I was proud to co-sponsor the Reproductive Health Act which codified Roe v. Wade in New York State. This past session, we took bold action once again to strengthen our reproductive health laws and provide much-needed protections for health care providers.  

We also took the first step in amending the State Constitution by passing the Equality Amendment which would enshrine reproductive rights in the Constitution.  The Amendment must pass another separately elected Legislature before it is put before the voters for passage.  

A woman’s health decision should be made only by that woman. Period. Unfortunately, unlike New York, in about half of the states in the Nation, women will no longer have their reproductive freedoms and the ability to make their own choices. 

I will continue to fight to ensure that reproductive freedom and the ability of women to make their own health care decisions are preserved in New York.

We are all too aware that our nation is suffering a plague of gun violence.

There are too many illegal guns. And there are too many guns, both legal and illegal, in the hands of those who are mentally ill or are likely to cause harm to themselves or others.

Shortly after the tragic Buffalo Massacre where 10 innocent people were murdered while doing their grocery shopping, the United States Supreme Court struck down New York’s 100-year-old concealed carry law. 

While Washington refuses to act, I, along with the rest of the State Legislature’s majority, took action to comply with the Court while enacting measures to protect our residents from gun violence.

We strengthened our red flag laws and expanded the eligibility requirements in the concealed carry permitting process to now require applicants to submit their social media histories for review. We also restricted the ability of individuals to carry concealed weapons in certain sensitive locations such as schools, governmental buildings, stadiums, medical offices, houses of worship, and public transit.

The shooter in the Buffalo Massacre was wearing body armor which protected him from the "good guy with a gun." Criminals do not need body armor, so I am especially proud that we passed my bill restricting the sale of body armor except to those whose occupations put them in danger of gun violence, including law enforcement, armored car guards, security guards, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians/paramedics.

As we all know, guns are not manufactured in the Hudson Valley, but too many guns find their way onto our streets. Most of these illegal guns come up the iron pipeline (Interstate 95) from the south where it’s easier to purchase a gun. I have long advocated for the State to take on illegal gun trafficking. This year, Governor Hochul heard me and she is working with those states along I-95 to help stem this deadly flow. 

Locally, I have secured funding for gun buyback programs which have taken more than 120 guns off our streets.

The battle against gun violence is never-ending. We must continue to be vigilant.

Voting should be simple and easy. Period. In pursuit of that goal, I have supported sweeping voting reforms since my election in 2018.  

While other states have moved to make it harder to vote, New York State has led the way in making it easier to register and vote. This past session, I supported the “John Lewis Voting Rights Act” which works to prohibit voter dilution, suppression, intimidation, deception, or obstruction.

New York now has nine early voting days, including two full weekends, prior to Election Day and all primaries. 

To minimize confusion when polling sites changed, I passed a new law that requires the Board of Elections to post a sign on yellow paper at the entrance of the old site stating that the polling location has been moved and where the new polling site is located.  This must be done for both primary and general elections.

Young people, ages 16 and 17, can now pre-register to vote. Inviting young people into the democratic process early will make them more likely to vote and increase turnout in the years to come.  

We reformed the counting of absentee ballots so that most ballots will be counted by the close of Primary or Election Day so we will know the results in most elections during the evening after polls close.

I am still pushing for the State to amend the Constitution and institute “no excuse” absentee voting.  There is no reason that people should need a reason to vote by mail.  If a duly registered voter wants to vote by mail and requests an absentee ballot, then the Board should be able to send the voter an absentee ballot – no questions asked. Absentee voting should be that simple.

As New York State Comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli said, “An Industrial Development Agency's (IDA) core mission is to economically benefit their communities, not the officials running them.” 

Unfortunately, too many IDA officials abuse their positions to enrich themselves. As a result, these officials compromise the communities and taxpayers they are meant to serve, defrauding them of significant tax monies, sometimes totaling in the millions and even billions of dollars. These hidden conflicts and self-dealings call into question the integrity of the IDA system.

Last year, there was widespread corruption discovered at the Orange County IDA. Ultimately, the guilty parties were directed to repay more than one million dollars. Despite their crime, they received no jail time and weren’t even fined for their actions.

That’s why I wrote and passed legislation eliminating opportunities for IDA fraud by prohibiting IDA officials, employees and independent contractors from self-dealing or otherwise taking advantage of their positions for personal financial gain.

But a prohibition without a penalty is not a deterrent. Thanks to my bill, any person violating these restrictions will be subject to a civil penalty of five times the compensation or benefit received by the person.