bye bye COBIS...

[WebsterNYtech]

Ok so COBIS is officially dead. Great news...... BUT what's the status of the MicroCrapping bill? I know it passed in the assembly, and has to go to the house. Did it ever make it there? a quick Google search turned up this "Republicans control the Senate, 32-30, and bills can't even come to the floor without their blessing" So Is it dead? Can we rejoice yet?


It's nice to see that there are at least a few people in the state that have a clue. I'm glad I voted for Mike Nozzolio...

[Noodles]

From here, it doesn't look like it's moved too far just yet.

[Bob]

No, COBIS is NOT dead.
The NYS Senate voted to end COBIS and sent the bill to the Assembly, who still has to vote on it before sending it to the Governor's desk for his signature. Because the microstamping bill was passed by the Assembly, it is HIGHLY unlikely that they will pass the COBIS repealer. I don't see it ever getting out of committee.

And no, this doesn't change ANYTHING with microstamping. It's still a very real threat.

[Bill]

Good news! Finally a little common sense

[WebsterNYtech]

wow my bad, i read the email from Nozzolio and thought things were done. That sucks..... but microstamping still shouldn't get through the senate right? SO after all the debate and all the taxpayer money spent debating these issues, in the end we'll still have COBIS but won't have microstamping? (exactly how things are now) or am I reading this wrong?


Edit: You're right Bob. My apologies, I jumped the gun..... This is at the end of the email (I was so happy i missed it)
"you can be assured that I will continue fighting to enact this legislation into law and urge the State Assembly to join the Senate in ending this irresponsible waste of our taxpayer's money" ~Senator Mike Nozzolio

[Bob]

Microstamping SHOULDN'T get through the Senate, but there are no guarantees. Bloomberg has a LOT of political and financial capital to throw around in an attempt to influence votes.

[WebsterNYtech]

Good news! Finally a little common sense

looks like there is a little common sense, but not quite enough

[WebsterNYtech]

Microstamping SHOULDN'T get through the Senate, but there are no guarantees. Bloomberg has a LOT of political and financial capital to throw around in an attempt to influence votes.

I hope it doesn't make it through (obviously none of us do) It is kinda of scary that a Mayor of only one part of the state can have that much political clout over the rest of the state. Especially since 90% of NY is drastically different than NYC.

[Jeff]

They only have one week left in the session, right? That cobis bill probably won't make it to vote in the assembly.

[WebsterNYtech]

They only have one week left in the session, right? That cobis bill probably won't make it to vote in the assembly.

So can they just keep stalling till it goes away? is there a time limit on these things?

[Bob]

So can they just keep stalling till it goes away? is there a time limit on these things?

If the bill doesn't get voted upon before the end of the session, it dies and has to be reintroduced during the next session.

[WebsterNYtech]

bullsh*t......



not your answer, the legislative games they play

[Tim1]

Eh, if unpassed bills didn't expire at the end of the session we'd still have bills from the 1700s floating around waiting to be voted on. I agree that they play a lot of "legislative games" but I don't think having bills expire at the end of the legislative session is one of them.

If the pro-RKBA'ers in the Senate really wanted to do something about COBIS they'd refuse to fund it when the state budget rolls around and stick to their guns. Probably not an issue worth burning that much political capital over though; we all agree that COBIS is a waste of money but it doesn't really rank that high on my list of concerns in Albany.

[WebsterNYtech]

Yeah, that's true. We don't need all of that dead wait still floating around in political limbo.

[nyrkba]

If the pro-RKBA'ers in the Senate really wanted to do something about COBIS they'd refuse to fund it when the state budget rolls around

They can't do that because it is not a line item.

[k2jlx]

I suspect it may be a ploy with the senate to pass microstamping, you pass that, we'll pass the repeal of CoBIS. Who knows with all the dirty political games that go on in the halls of power.

[Tim1]

They can't do that because it is not a line item.

Do it the same way the US Congress does it, attach the following the funding for the NYSP: "No monies allocated in this act may be used for the COBIS program."

Not worth it from a political capital standpoint, IMHO, but they COULD do something about it if they were so inclined.

[simmonsjeffreya]

Yes, this Senate session's last day is the 20th, so there's only 3 more days left (only 10 hours total, though) for this to get pushed through. With the way it seems to take things forever to get through the Senate, it *shouldn't* happen. I often follow bills through the Senate I have an interest in and things move painfully slow. S4041-B's sister bill passed the Assembly in days, then fizzled out over 2 months in the Senate and never got through. Gotta love this state. At least in this case, it's a good thing.

[BerettaGuy]

Microstamping SHOULDN'T get through the Senate, but there are no guarantees. Bloomberg has a LOT of political and financial capital to throw around in an attempt to influence votes.

Let me ask a question here? I live in Erie County. Bloomberg is the Mayor of NYC. He should matter to me the same as the Mayor of Rochester. In other words noting nada zilch.
Yet this rich sob Mayor is influencing legislators who represent people that aren't allowed look at a handgun.
He gets these people to sponsor and vote yes for anti gun bills and the bill only effects lawful gun owners hence not people in New York City.
Doesn't this piss you off? What a Crock!

It is time we hold the people that vote for this crap accountable.
Are they doing is just to get invited to his parties? Looking for acceptance from the King?
There were a few legislators that stood up to him in NYC and a few Dems that sided with gun owners.
They should get our support.

[Bob]

I live in Ontario County. The Mayor of Rochester shouldn't matter to me either. The fact of the matter is, He does. Decisions made in Rochester affect not just Rochester, but the entire region. Just like decisions in New York City affect more than just New York City.

What if Mikey decided to implement a 20% tax on every shipping container that comes in to New York Harbor? How would that affect our economy, with so much traffic coming up the Hudson River? What if he decided to add a 10% on every airplane seat that comes into JFK? Almost HALF of the combined flights from ROC and BUF would be in jeopardy. Lets not even talk about the shytstorm he would stir if he decided to mess with Wall Street.

Granted, these are only examples - remote possibilities at best. But it's a very big reason why ALL New Yorkers need to keep an eye on Mikey B and his circus.

[Tim1]

What if Mikey decided to implement a 20% tax on every shipping container that comes in to New York Harbor?

The US Congress might have something to say about it if he tried to do that. What you've just described was the justification for the Interstate Commerce Clause. It had nothing to do with wheat quotas or marijuana and everything to do with a fear of the States (or their political subdivisions) trying to undermine commerce and/or engage in protectionism.

[Bob]

Tim, work with me here. I'm trying to make a point. Sure, the execution may be slightly flawed, but the intent was solid.

[Tim1]

Sorry, I didn't mean to be nit-picky. You raise a perfectly valid and good point.

[Bllade]

I've said it before and I'll say it again... the STATE would be better off without NYC, the Boroughs and LI. Let them have their own state and leave the rest of us alone!

[jmac00]

the fact of the matter is, this state is run by NYC. What happens in NYC effects everyone in the state. 60¢ to 70¢ of every tax dollar collected by Albany goes to NYC. Up to this year, Albany "subsidized" NYC to the tune of $365 MILLION dollars annually. Big labor in the Hudson River region is running the show. If any politician wants to get elected, they MUST kiss big labors ass, period.

Rochester, Buffalo and Syracuse are imploding almost as fast as Detroit. People are leaving the state as fast as they can. Rochester has more *PHd's per capita than any other city in NYS, those same PHd's are flipping bergers and are underemployed. Our true unemployment rate is somewhere between 12-20%

It is ALL ABOUT THE ECONOMY, but NYC could careless about upstate (btw, 'upstate' is anything north of where commuter trains dump Manhattanites)

I got this from an article writen by Bill Nojay: (high lights I added)

Gotham’s politics are overwhelmingly liberal, favoring government intervention in virtually all aspects of private enterprise, tolerant of corruption and high taxes, and inclined to glibness toward complainers (“if you don’t like it here…leave”). Not that there’s anything wrong with that…if you are New York City. Manhattan has what marketers call a “unique brand” – it can afford to offend because there is literally nowhere like it in the world. Don’t like the cost of doing business on Fifth Avenue? Tough – someone else wants to be next door to Tiffany’s. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out of town.
Our public education system has little to do with childrens’ education but everything to do with protecting an unholy alliance of big-state socialism hidden in public labor union agendas, and educrats cozy with monopoly control of the spoils of multi-billion dollar budgets. It is not a coincidence that every serious reformer of New York’s education system has been sliced, diced and thrown out on the street for having the temerity of challenging the established order. Politicos who say they are “for the kids” look on during the pummeling without lending a hand to the reformer, much like kids in a school yard who watch in fear as their friend is beaten up by bullies.

The culture gives us a bureaucratic millstone of arrogant, confrontational, unresponsive civil servants who do little to hide their disdain for ordinary taxpayers, even though most of us will be working into our 60s or even 70s in order to pay for the lifetime, gold-plated benefits afforded government workers and double dippers who retire in their 50s (or even 40s). Ever try to talk with a DEC zealot about whether it’s really necessary to bankrupt rural New Yorkers with the most costly wood boiler rules in the nation? Or negotiate with a tax auditor about, well, anything? Or try to get a building permit if the ground is in the least bit squishy in the springtime (wetlands!! wetlands!!)?

The political culture which has killed over 300,000 jobs in Upstate New York has also made us dependents of Big Government. The fact is New York City’s politicians have created a “Company Store” financial relationship where we provide what they want (more government workers voting heavily Democrat, fewer private sector workers voting mainly Republican) and they provide us with what we need (subsidies to Upstate to pay for those mandates, ranging from $8 - $10 Billion a year). It’s a modern day Company Store – you need it to survive, but it will wind up killing you unless you escape.
None of the trend lines are good. We have become numb to dire economic statistics which used to shock us. Calls to “do something” are falling on increasingly deaf ears, largely because past efforts have led only to frustration. Chris Wilmot joins others in calling for a 51st State, but I’m not holding my breath.

I think Mr Nojay sums it up pretty well.