Assemblyman says this week illustrates that state legislature can only work on a crisis basis and spends much of annual session spinning its wheels and not delivering results     

Assembly Jim Tedisco (R,C,I-Glenville) today called for a dramatic rethinking of how Albany operates by moving to a 3-month-long session that would conclude with the April 1^st budget deadline.

            Before the week is out, the Legislature is expected to vote on a so-called “Big-Ugly” package of legislation that includes extension of the property tax cap and rent control, aid to private schools, property tax rebates and a one-year extension of mayoral control of New York City schools – all priorities that were well known back in January and could have been accomplished by April 1^st.  The last scheduled day of the 2015 session was June 17^th.

“Clearly if these priority issues can now be completed in a one-week extended session they can be completed in a 3-month regular session. This begs the question, do we really need a 6-month session or can the legislature be just as effective in a 3-month session and do extensions after that if need be?” said Tedisco.

It costs about $1.5 million to bring the legislature into Albany for a 3-month period.  

Assembly Members say Legislature should do its part by passing “Prisoner Privileges Limitation Law”; call for independent investigation of prison break

Assemblyman Jim Tedisco (R,C,I-Glenville) and Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin (R,C,I-Schaghticoke), today said Clinton Correctional Facility is “doing the right thing” and praised them for closing its entire “Honor Block”, as the Times Union reported, at the maximum security prison in Dannemora, where two convicts escaped from almost two weeks ago.  

Tedisco and McLaughlin also today are calling for an outside and truly independent investigation of the causes of the prison break and recommendations to help prevent something like this from happening again --  not an investigator appointed by the Administration.

David Sweat and Richard Matt, both brutal murderers, lived on the “honor block” at the Clinton Correctional Facility as a reward for “good behavior.” The “Dannemora Duo” were allegedly allowed to wear regular clothing in addition to their prison attire and worked with civilians at the prison’s tailor shop where they befriended Joyce Mitchell, who allegedly helped the killers escape from the maximum security prison.

Assembly members seek to prohibit “worst of the worst” violent convicts from receiving “good behavior” rewards where they can work with civilians and wear their own attire

Assemblyman Jim Tedisco (R,C,I-Glenville), State Senator Patrick M. Gallivan (R,C,I-Elma), Assembly Members Steve McLaughlin (R,C,I-Schaghticoke), Pete Lopez (R,C,I-Schoharie), Dean Murray (R,C,I-East Patchogue) and many of their colleagues today announced new legislation, the “Prisoner Privileges Limitation Law” to help prevent incidents like what happened 10 days ago with the escape of two convicted killers from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora.

David Sweat and Richard Matt, both brutal murderers, lived on the “honor block” at the Clinton Correctional Facility as a reward for “good behavior.” The “Dannemora Duo” were allegedly allowed to wear regular clothing in addition to their prison attire and worked with civilians at the prison’s tailor shop where they befriended Joyce Mitchell, who allegedly helped the killers escape from the maximum security prison.

Tedisco and his colleagues are seeking to prevent the worst-of-the-worst violent convicts from having unfettered access to civilians at prisons and being able to wear civilian clothing while incarcerated.  The legislation, (S.5978/awaiting Assembly #), would take away a portion of the good behavior rewards program only for criminals convicted of the most serious violent crimes such as murder and rape.

Special event in Albany brings together lawmakers, law enforcement and hundreds of pet owners and animal advocates to speak-up for our four-legged friends

Assemblyman Jim Tedisco (R,C,I-Glenville) and Senator Phil Boyle (R,C,I-Suffolk County) today joined with their legislative colleagues, law enforcement and hundreds of pet owners and animal advocates to hold the 5^th Annual NYS Animal Advocacy Day at an event in Albany emceed by Steve Caporizzo from Pet Connection.

Among the legislation they called for was passage of bi-partisan legislation (A.2484/S.2935) with Majority sponsors in both houses that would create a statewide registry for convicted animal abusers to ensure they can never adopt or purchase an animal again and that they receive psychological evaluation and treatment.

In January 2016, the FBI will be moving animal cruelty to a top tier Group A offense in its crime reporting statistics due to it being a bridge crime as animal abusers can, and often do, go on to harm people.

“We have an obligation as a government to protect all members of our family, including those who have no voice. Animal Advocacy Day matters because it’s about more than just protecting our four-legged friends, it’s about keeping people safe from harm.  Just as important as strengthening our laws, Animal Advocacy Day aims to educate the public and law enforcement about the value of our companion animals and the importance of enforcing existing laws,” said Assemblyman Jim Tedisco, Assembly Chair of Animal Advocacy Day.

Author of Common Core Parental Refusal Act says Assembly Majority bill falls short by not requiring schools to notify parents of their rights to opt their kids out of Common Core tests           

Statement from Assemblyman Jim Tedisco (R,C,I-Glenville)

“Today, the state Assembly is poised to debate and vote on legislation (A.6777) that only gets half the job done when it comes to ensuring parents are informed of their rights and protected if they choose to opt their children in grades 3-8 out of the controversial Common Core standardized tests.”

“While the Majority bill protects children, teachers and schools from being penalized for opting out of the tests, it’s missing the critical piece that parents should be informed by schools in writing or via email that they have a right to refuse to have their children take these developmentally inappropriate high stakes tests.”

MEMORANDUM

TO:                 All of my Colleagues in the NYS Assembly

FROM:           Assemblyman Jim Tedisco

DATE:           May 26, 2015

I will soon be introducing legislation that calls for the weight dedicated to evaluating a teacher’s effectiveness based on student’s scores on standardized testing to be limited to a maximum of 5% of the total evaluation of effective teaching.

Research indicates that any Value Added Measure (VAM) that utilizes one measurement to an inordinate level such as the 50% suggested by the Governor is ineffective in correlating a teacher’s effectiveness as it relates to student learning.

A snapshot set of standardized tests that are one size fits all are ineffective given the diversity of the school districts here in our state. Kids from impoverished areas, students with special needs, and those who lack stability in the home are all doomed to failure as are the teachers evaluated by such criteria.

Standardized tests should be used as diagnostic tools to move children forward in their educational journey and not as a benchmark to stigmatize students and teachers.

If you are interested in joining in sponsoring this Bill, please fill out this form and fax it to ext. 4650 or email to [email protected] by Monday, June 1.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call my office at ext. 5772.  

       ______ Co-Prime Sponsor                          ______ Multi- Sponsor

Member: ____________________________________________________

Contact: _____________________                             Ext: _____________

Assemblyman partners with parents of Suzanne Lyall, leading Saratoga County-based beverage distributor, Saratoga County Sheriff, and local restaurants on new round of coasters to generate tips on what led 8 Capital Region residents to go missing

Assemblyman Jim Tedisco (R,C,I-Glenville) today joined with Doug and Mary Lyall of the Center for Hope, DeCrescente Distributing Company and Saratoga County Sheriff Michael Zurlo, to launch a new round of “Coasters for Hope” to help find Capital Region missing persons and solve several cold cases. 

More than 25,000 “Coasters for Hope” drink coasters featuring pictures and information about eight new local missing persons will be printed and distributed by DeCrescente to restaurants and taverns across the Capital Region in this initial order.  In 2013-14, more than 50,000 coasters were distributed in the program’s first year.

The public-private partnership to create and distribute drink coasters to help find missing persons is the first of its kind in the Northeast.

Each drink coaster has a number where people can anonymously call or text a tip to law enforcement about a missing person’s case. A crucial tool in solving these cases is keeping information about missing persons in the public eye.  

Assemblyman says Congress must “referee” to stop Secretary of Education from cutting federal school funding to punish NY for massive student opt-outs of grades 3-8 tests

Assemblyman Jim Tedisco (R,C,I-Glenville) today is calling on New York’s congressional delegation to prevent the U.S. Department of Education from carrying out a threat to sanction New York schools as punishment for the hundreds of thousands of students who opted-out of grades 3-8 Common Core standardized tests this month.

            U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has suggested that the massive student boycotts of the Common Core tests as seen in New York is unacceptable, and if unchecked, could lead to federal intervention in our schools to ensure test compliance.

            In the past two weeks, hundreds of thousands of parents across the state staged a parental uprising against the Common Core curriculum and culture of over-utilization of high stakes standardized tests and exercised their right to refuse to have their children take the grades 3-8 ELA and math exams.

“While the state legislature works to protect the rights of parents to refuse the Common Core tests, we need our congressional representatives to referee on the federal level and send Secretary Duncan a clear message there will be consequences for penalizing our schools. Parents should be the primary decision makers on what is best for their children’s educational futures and not penalized by state and federal bureaucrats,” said Tedisco, a former public school special education teacher.

Click the link below to read my letter to Board of Regents Chancellor Tisch on the over-utilization of  Common Core testing:

Letter from Assemblyman Tedisco to Board of Regents Chancellor Tisch by Assemblyman Jim Tedisco

It’s Earth Day, time for Legislature to harness power of social media to communicate with constituents and save tax dollars, paper and ink-filled cartridges from landfills

In celebration of Earth Day, Assemblyman Jim Tedisco (R,C,I-Glenville), the driving force behind passage of Proposition 2 to allow digital copies of bills to suffice, today announced he has a new mission: save tax dollars and the environment by having the Legislature stop producing taxpayer-funded legislative mailers, known as “frank mail.”

            Each year, Assembly members are given a budget of about $39,000 for legislative postage and printing – much of which goes to sending direct mailers that look similar to political campaign advertisements to thousands of constituents in each of the 150 Assembly Districts. 

            Tedisco has not sent a single bulk frank mail piece since 2010. The Legislature could save millions of dollars each year by following his lead.