News stories tagged with "sheldon-silver"

(02/09/12) Governor Andrew Cuomo is taking some heat this week. That's after a series of actions that have been criticized as consolidating more power for the executive branch, at the expense of the legislature and even some other statewide office holders. In Albany, Karen DeWitt reports. more

(02/07/12) Legislators haven't had a raise since 1999, and some, led by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, have said recently that it's about time.

But a new poll finds a majority of New Yorkers don't think giving the state's top politicians a pay raise is a good idea right now. Neither do some of the North Country's representatives at the Capitol. Martha Foley has more. more

(02/06/12) Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver continues to advocate for a pay raise for state lawmakers. Silver says it's time for them to see their wages increase for the first time since 1999. more

(02/01/12) Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is continuing to push for his bill to increase the state's minimum wage. The Speaker is also expressing reservations about Governor Cuomo's plan to offer an option of 401k-style retirement plans for future state workers. In Albany, Karen DeWitt has the details. more

(01/31/12) The leading Democrat in New York's Assembly is pushing to increase the state's minimum wage.

Speaker Sheldon Silver says it's "absurd" to think that anyone can make a living on the current amount, $7.25 an hour. He wants the minimum to go up to $8.50.

Silver had dozens of colleagues from his Democrat-controlled chamber behind him when he announced his bill yesterday.

The speaker says the minimum wage in New York has risen 10 cents in the last six years and increasing it is "a matter of human dignity". more

(12/08/11) New York lawmakers piled on last night to approve an overhaul of the state's income tax rates. First, the Republican led Senate voted 55-0 for the measure. The Assembly followed with a 130-8 vote.

The measure was backed by Governor Andrew Cuomo. It will increases taxes on millionaires, but give 4.4 million middle-class residents a rare break worth $200 to $400 a year.

State Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos says it's the first rate reduction for middle class earners in 50 years. But conservative critics say New York will continue to have one of the nation's highest tax rates, and New York City residents will pay the highest rate in the nation.

The deal required a change of mind for most of the lawmakers who passed it last night, and for Gov. Cuomo, who had promised to "freeze" taxes during his campaign last year. As they gathered for the vote yesterday, lawmakers were busy portraying the deal in the best possible light. Critics complained about the hasty, behind-closed-doors process. In Albany, Karen DeWitt reports. more

(05/25/11) Chances for the passage of a property tax cap in New York have improved, now that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has proposed a plan that earned praise from Governor Cuomo and conditional approval by the State Senate. Karen DeWitt reports. more

(05/10/07) Governor Spitzer and legislative leaders held their first open leaders meeting since the state budget, where Spitzer pledged to try to work out remaining session issues in public, and not behind closed doors. Karen DeWitt reports.

(05/10/07) Legislative leaders say they want to revisit the Berger Commission report that recommended that many hospitals around the state be closed or merged. Karen DeWitt reports.

(06/21/05) Members of the State Senate put the pressure on Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to agree to let the state more closely monitor sexual predators. The Senators arranged a meeting between the father of girl killed by a child molester and the leader of the Assembly. Karen DeWitt reports.