Assemblyman Molitor Expresses Concern Over State Spending, Finds Common Ground

Andrew Molitor

State Assemblyman Andrew Molitor is expressing concern about state spending while finding some common ground with other initiatives proposed by Governor Kathy Hochul.

Molitor, who took office representing the 150th State Assembly District on January 1, said Hochul’s $252 billion budget proposal is “unprecedented and irresponsible.” He said that’s going to come back to hurt the state as there won’t always be a revenue surplus.

Molitor said the Democratic majority and Hochul need to think about how costs are increasing for the average New Yorker, “You can cut middle class taxes, which is good, but a lot of local municipalities have to keep property taxes the same or are forced to increase them because of unfunded mandates that come from the state capital. So, if the state is operating at a surplus, then maybe the state should think about Aid to Counties. There’s Aid to Municipalities, but they should think about aid to counties.”

Molitor said that would help Counties lower property taxes which would then help people with paying everyday bills while leaving money leftover to improve their quality of life.

He said Medicaid costs in New York are the highest, per-capita, in the nation with Hochul increasing those costs by $4 Billion in the state budget, “We have Medicaid coverage that other states don’t have and we also have too many people who are on Medicaid. Despite the poverty level decreasing in New York, enrollment is increasing in Medicaid. So, we need to figure out what we’re doing wrong there. We need to fix that system.”

Molitor said California, Texas, and Florida all have much lower Medicaid costs.

He added that he noticed Hochul, in her State of the State address, has adopted a lot of ideas proposed by Republicans including tax cuts to the middle class, increasing the child tax credit, and universal free lunch program for schools. Molitor said these are proposals he can support.

We’ll have the full interview with Assemblyman Molitor, including how his first few weeks representing the 150th Assembly District have gone on this week’s Community Matters at 5:00 p.m., Thursday, January 30 on 107.9 fm WRFA.