Testimony of Eileen Hamlin, Statewide Board Member of Citizen Action of New York, to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation on Hydraulic Fracturing

Representatives of the New York State Department of EnvironmentalConservation (DEC): my name is Eileen Hamlin. I am a statewide board member of Citizen Action of New York, a membership organization that advocates for social,racial, economic and environmental justice with chapters or affiliates in seven communities throughout New York State. I also chair Citizen Action’s Southern Tier chapter.

For the reasons I discuss below, Citizen Action is totally opposed to hydraulicfracturing, or “hydrofracking” in New York State. However, today I speak not just as a representative of Citizen Action’s over 20,000 members, but as a thirty-year resident of Broome County whose quality of life will be seriously harmed by thispractice. My own story should stand as a dramatic example as to why the second draft of the Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (the “draft EIS”) is completely insufficient and that DEC should not allow hydrofracking in the Marcellus Shale.

Testimony by Eileen Hamlin on Hydrofracking 11 17 11 (Final) (1)

Testimony of Bob Cohen, Policy Director, Citizen Action of New York to the Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment on the LATFOR Data Release

Chairmen Nozzolio and McEneny and members of the New York State Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment (LATFOR).  My name is Bob Cohen.  I am the Policy Director of Citizen Action of New York, a statewide membership organization that advocates for racial, social, economic and environmental justice with chapters or affiliates in seven communities throughout New York State.  Thank you for holding this hearing.  Our state needs and deserves fair redistricting this year that gives the citizens of New York the representation they deserve in the halls of power here in Albany.  It is also critical that district lines be drawn that respect communities of interest, with a preference for keeping urban communities within a single legislative district.

Testimony of Bob Cohen, Policy Director for Citizen Action of New York, on the establishment of a Health Insurance Exchange in New York State

Our overarching message is one that we believe you will hear again and again: New York State must pass exchange legislation in 2011. It is critical that the state access the guaranteed multi-year funding that will be made available to states by acting this year. Further, we must begin in 2011 to take numerous steps – from revamping state IT systems to hiring staff – that are dependent on the existence of an exchange. We are hopeful that the Governor will soon propose exchange legislation, and that both houses of the Legislature can then rapidly begin negotiations – through an open process with continued consumer participation – to arrive at an agreement on final legislation by the end of session.

CANY Testimony Before Govs Hearings on the Exchange, May 2011

Health Care For All New York testimony to the New York State Department of Insurance on the Establishment of a Health Insurance Exchange in New York State

HCFANY urges the New York Legislature to adopt Exchange Legislation during the 2011 Session, which ends on June 20, 2011. Several key governance issues must be addressed in this bill, including: whether the Exchange should be run by a government agency or nonprofit; who should serve on the Exchange board; and how the Exchange should be funded.

The Legislature should establish a government-run Exchange. A not-for-profit entity will not have governmental accountability or transparency and would not be trusted by the general public with making adjudicatory decisions or handling confidential information. While HCFANY would be comfortable with either an Exchange housed in an existing governmental department or a public authority, it appears that a public authority does have some significant advantages, including enhanced flexibility in procurement and other rules, singularity of mission, and freedom from conflict of interest between regulatory and contracting roles.

HCFANY urges the Legislature to adopt a Board governance model in which the Board has seven members, appointed by the Governor, upon advice and consent of the Legislature. We believe the ideal Exchange Board would have three Ex Officio Members: the Superintendent of Insurance, Commissioner of Health, and Medicaid Director; and three to four members who represent the fiduciary interests of consumer and employer purchasers and who have demonstrated knowledge and expertise in matters such as insurance coverage, public health, and health care finance . The non-governmental members of the Board should: reflect diversity of expertise; reflect the gender, racial and ethnic and geographical diversity of the State; and not have any conflict of interest. In addition, the Board should establish an advisory committee that represents the views and knowledge of interested parties who might be precluded from Board service by their conflicts of interest and to more fully represent the diverse interests of New York’s stakeholders.

Finally, the Exchange should be funded through a universal method of assessment/taxation. The Exchange will be performing governmental functions which benefit the entire state, and it would be counterproductive to burden only products in the Exchange with the costs of performing those functions. The Exchange must be generously funded to be effective in its role.

HCFANY Exchange Testimony 5-16 Jess Wisenski FINA

2009-10 NYS Deficit Reduction Testimony of Bob Cohen to Assembly Ways and Means Committee (click to download PDF)

Governor Paterson has acknowledged the pain that his proposed $5 billion DRP, including $1.3 million in local assistance cuts for SFY 2009-10, would cause to New Yorkers that are dependent on this funding.  The Governor’s simple answer – repeated again and again – is that he has no choice to make each of his cuts, including $480 million in mid-year cuts to schools ($686 million on a school-year basis), given the severe downturn in the economy in the state and the nation.  However, even assuming that some cuts may be inevitable given the state fiscal situation (which we don’t), the Governor has proposed cuts of a far greater magnitude than necessary.  Further, certain proposed cuts are simply unfair and unwarranted and the Governor has curiously failed to propose obvious alternatives to mitigate the most severe cuts.

2009-10 NYC Deficit Reduction Testimony of Pam Bennett to Senate Finance Committee on After-School Programs (click to download PDF)

In this time of economic hardship for the state, it is even more critical that cuts not be made to programs that have the greatest impact on low-income people and the most vulnerable in our communities.  The Governor’s proposed cuts to after-school are a prime example of this, and should be rejected by the Legislature.