Not Relieved by Relief

Embodying the ire of the business community in New York, Unshackle Upstate has voiced its discontent with the proposals released earlier this week by Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Mandate Relief team.
“The report put forth by the Mandate Relief Redesign Team (MRRT) has us asking one simple question: ‘Where’s the relief?" wondered Brian Sampson, the executive director of Unshackle Upstate.
He argued that his group expected more from the team in terms of reduced mandates and regulations on local governments and school districts.
Sampson did voice his support for a new pension tier that was proposed by the mandate team to help municipalities and school districts deal with rising pension costs. This change, though, would only impact future employees and wouldn't alter the obligations the state already has.
This was why Sampson said the team's proposals fell short, as they failed to address the Taylor Law and its Triborough Amendment, which he characterized as "archaic mandates."
Sampson concluded with the threat that rank-and-file legislators will embrace the hard choices if the mandate relief team (and more subtly the legislative leaders) aren't willing to.