Albany County Republican & Conservative Conference Agenda 

ALBANY, NY – Members of the Republican and Conservative Conference in the County Legislature this month unveiled two commonsense pieces of legislation to address critical economic development needs and costs in Albany County. The first bill would redirect commercial casino/gaming revenue to the Advance Albany County Alliance, providing an ongoing financial alternative for economic development to the proposed increase to hotel and motel occupancy taxes under current consideration by the County Legislature. The second would request a fiscal sustainability study of future electric vehicle charging stations owned and operated by Albany County. Both bills will be considered in Legislative Committee meetings this week.

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“As County leaders, protecting taxpayers and the local economy are two top priorities. Our Republican and Conservative Conference’s introduction of a bill to reliably fund economic development without raising taxes, and separate legislation which studies the taxpayer costs associated with building renewable energy infrastructure, are all about tackling those priorities head on. New Yorkers are taxed enough as it is with the cost-of-living skyrocketing over the last several years. If we can sidestep raising taxes while stimulating job growth and opportunities, we should seize the opportunity. After having offered these bills to the Democratic Majority, I hope my colleagues all agree this is a golden opportunity to do things with commonsense,” said Minority Leader Frank A. Mauriello (R-C, Colonie).

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“For more than a year, we have been tasked with finding ways to reliably fund economic development in Albany County. Predictably, the best our Democrat Assembly members and Senators could come up with to address this issue was by needlessly raising taxes. Today we are providing a better alternative moving forward. They are protecting their own interests by keeping 3% of Albany County tax revenues for a New York State public authority, which is the only one in our state financed by County taxes. By phasing in the use of existing funds generated by casino and gaming revenue, we will not only avoid raising taxes to fund economic development – we will do so without spending down our budget or surplus, and produce millions more over the next five years for economic development efforts than an increased hotel tax ever could. Thank you Minority Leader Mauriello and all of my Republican and Conservative colleagues for introducing this commonsense measure,” said Deputy Minority Leader Paul J. Burgdorf (R-C, Latham).

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“Electric vehicle charging stations have become commonplace in Albany County, and our entire state and country in the last few years. This is surely an encouraging development for electric vehicle drivers, but oftentimes I am left wondering what the public cost is for this infrastructure. My bill to study the fiscal sustainability of the County building, owning and operating electric vehicle chargers is just commonsense. We should absolutely know the costs to County taxpayers if there is any, including the cost of developing these stations as well as electricity provided, which should be passed onto EV consumers who wish to use them. Thank you Minority Leader Mauriello and Deputy Minority Leader Burgdorf for signing onto this bill. I encourage all my colleagues in the Legislature to do the same,” said County Legislator Todd A. Drake (R-C, Latham).

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The casino revenue bill, sponsored by Leader Mauriello and the Republican and Conservative Conference, creates a funding stream for Albany County economic development which would be phased in starting at $1.5 million in 2024, and increase every year by $237,500 until it sunsets at $2.45 million in 2029. The County Legislature is currently considering a proposal to raise the County hotel and motel occupancy tax by half a percent to fund County economic development, because State Democratic lawmakers would not change an outdated tax formula which unnecessarily gives millions in revenue to the Albany Convention Center Authority. The Convention Center is debt-free and the only New York State Public Authority funded completely by County taxes. In addition, the casino revenue legislation would generate millions more in funds for economic development efforts than the hotel tax proposal would over the course of five years, all without raising taxes.

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The EV economic study bill, introduced by Legislator Todd Drake, addresses a bill passed by the County Legislature last month which requires a site feasibility study for future electric vehicle charging stations owned and operated by Albany County. That legislation excluded the critical component of studying fiscal sustainability issues related to EV chargers, including but not limited to the cost of installing charging stations, the annual maintenance and projected electricity costs associated with such stations, the County funding source(s) which will cover these projected costs, and projected revenues generated from fees on charging station usage.