The NY Dream Act, which would have expanded the state's Tuition Assistance Program to include undocumented students, failed to gain the necessary 32 votes needed to pass the state Senate.

The bill passed the Assembly in February and was expected to pass in the Senate, as it had been brought to a vote. Almost all bills that are allowed to come to a vote in the the state's legislative bodies do so with passage assured. In fact, only one bill failed in a Senate floor vote in 2011 and 2012. In the Assembly, a bill hasn't been voted down on the floor since 2004.

State Sen. George Maziarz voted against the bill, as did all of his Republican colleagues in the Senate.

Maziarz released a statement Monday after voting against the bill.

Today I voted a loud and resounding “NO” when the DREAM Act was taken up on the Senate floor. The liberal advocates will try to spin this legislation any way they can, but there’s no denying that the DREAM Act would take financial aid away from law-abiding families and it gives it to those who are in our country illegally. This bill is not about expanding hope and opportunity, it is about expanding handouts and opportunism. That is something my constituents simply cannot stomach. 

Just a few weeks ago, the Governor floated the idea of giving away free college educations to prison inmates. In my district, that went down like a lead balloon. Most of my constituents view the DREAM Act with equal incredulity and scorn. For their sake, I am glad this measure failed to pass the Senate this evening. 

Getting a college education is important to succeeding in today’s workforce, and the cost of getting a degree continues to rise. But that doesn’t mean our state can be all things to all people. We have countless hardworking families who are playing by the rules and struggling to afford college. We have immigrant families who have followed our laws and gone to great lengths to become legal citizens.  

Precious taxpayers dollars that are earmarked for financial aid should be directed to these families first and foremost.

---

Don't miss any updates from East Niagara Post.
Add us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.
Plus now Instagram and Vine.

State Sen. George Maziarz

State Sen. George Maziarz, R-Newfane, announced that today the Senate approved legislation to change how members of the New York State Board of Regents are selected.

The 17-member Board of Regents is responsible for supervising educational activities in the state, including the public education system and the SUNY system.

Currently, all members of the Board of Regents are elected by the members of the Senate and Assembly gathered in a joint legislative session. Tuesday, the joint body re-elected three incumbent members of the board, a measure which Maziarz opposed.

There are 150 members of the state Assembly and 63 members of the Senate, which Maziarz says stacks the deck in favor of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, essentially allowing the larger lower body — controlled by Democrats — the authority to pick whomever the choose, against the wishes of the smaller Senate, which is led by a Republican majority.

“A better process will produce a better outcome,” Maziarz said.  “As I said earlier this week, having Speaker Silver perennially control this process is wrong and it prevents rank and file legislators from holding the Regents accountable.”

Under S.2031-A, approved today, beginning next year the Regents would no longer be chosen by a vote of the Legislature in joint session. Instead, an new process would be phased in over the next five years whereby Regents would be appointed by the Governor and the caucuses in the respective legislative chambers. In the end, eight Regents would be appointed by the Governor, three by the Senate Majority Leader, three by the Assembly Speaker, one by the Senate Minority Leader, and one by the Assembly Minority Leader. One last seat would rotate between the Governor, Senator Majority Leader, and Assembly Speaker.

“Appointments are how we select members to serve on virtually every other government panel in the state,” Maziarz said. “Having a well-defined appointments process ensures that different views and different constituencies are fairly represented. That is not happening now on the Board of Regents because of how the process is completely controlled by the Assembly downstate leadership.”

The bill will be sent to the Assembly.

---

Don't miss any updates from East Niagara Post.
Add us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.
Plus now Instagram and Vine.