“Here we are again. If we needed more evidence that one-party rule in Albany isn’t working, this is it,” Sempolinski said. 

“Albany Democrats seem incapable of fulfilling the most fundamental role of government and that’s passing an on-time budget. This highlights, more than anything else, the need to restore common-sense spending practices and to reform the state budget process.”

In January, Gov. Hochul proposed a $262.7 billion executive budget, Assembly Democrats countered with a $272 billion proposal and state Senate Democrats offered a $269.8 billion budget. The governor and leaders of the Assembly and Senate, all of whom are Democrats, are meeting to reconcile the plans.

“All these budget proposals by the governor and Democrat majority are over a quarter of a trillion dollars. That’s an irresponsible, unsustainable level of spending and it’s an insult to the hard-working taxpayers of New York who are struggling to pay their utility bills and put food on their tables,” Sempolinski said. 

“This is exactly what happens when you think the only solution to a problem is throwing more money at it. More government and more taxes aren’t the answer. And we shouldn’t have three people in a room deciding the budget and laws for 20 million. That’s not democracy.”

The 2025-2026 state budget wasn’t adopted until May 8, five weeks late, Sempolinski noted.

Olean Star

ALBANY — State Sen. George Borrello criticized the Senate’s one-house budget resolution, passed Thursday along party lines, which adds $7.1 billion to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed $263 billion executive budget.

Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, voted no on the budget resolution, along with the rest of the Senate Republicans.

Hochul can now begin budget negotiations with Assembly Speaker Carl Hestie and his Democratic Senate counterpart, Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins.

Borrello said that after months of proclaiming they are laser-focused on “affordability,” Senate Democrats have now shown exactly what their twisted version of it looks like: more spending, more taxes, more mandates, and more pain for the people who actually pay the bills in this state.

“Their one-house budget is a fiscal train wreck,” Borrello said in a media statement.

“The Senate is pushing a $269.8 billion spending plan — more than $7 billion higher than the governor’s proposal and $11.5 billion above last year’s enacted budget,” he said. 

State operating funds, he said, is up $16.1 billion, nearly 11%  in a single year, which is more than four times the rate of inflation. “That is not restraint,” Borrello said. “That is Democrats’ spending addiction on steroids. And of course, runaway spending means higher taxes.”

State taxpayers are looking at $5.6 billion in higher taxes if the budget passes unchanged, “targeting employers, higher-income taxpayers, and many small business owners who already pay a disproportionate share of the taxes that keep this state running,” Borrello said. 

“Businesses are not going to quietly eat those costs,” he added. “They will pass them on through higher prices, or they will take their jobs and investment to states that actually welcome growth.

The governor acknowledges changes are needed to the state’s Climate Act, Borrello said, even as Democrats double down and increase green energy spending and mandates. “New Yorkers are being crushed by utility bills that have doubled over the past year,” he said.

“Democrats also rejected the Executive Budget proposal to crack down on car insurance fraud and lawsuit abuse — reforms that could help lower premiums in a state where drivers already pay among the highest rates in the nation,” Borello said.

“New York leads the nation in outmigration because people are being taxed too much, regulated too heavily, and priced out of the state they call home,” Borrello said. “They are fleeing to places like Florida, Texas, and North Carolina because those states understand what Albany refuses to learn: lower taxes, lower costs, sane energy policy, and a government that does not treat taxpayers like an endless ATM is the real path to affordability.”

Senate Republicans “have proposed a package of targeted income, property, and small business tax cuts that would provide real relief and begin changing both the reality and the perception of New York as an unaffordable, high-tax state,” Borrelo said.

Every budget season, I hope common sense will finally break through in Albany,” the Chautauqua County Republican said. “Every year, I am disappointed.”

IN THE ASSEMBLY,  Assemblyman Joe Sempolinski, R-Canisteo, also voted against that budget. The Democrat-backed plan would add $9.2 billion to Hochul’s record $262.7 billion executive budget.

The budget proposed by Assembly Democrats would increase state spending to $271.96 billion in the 2026-2027 fiscal year.

“This isn’t fiscally a responsible budget. The majority has delivered another bloated, over-the-top budget, that will drive more people and businesses out of New York,” Sempolinski said. 

“In the coming weeks, I’m going to work with Assembly Minority Leader Ed Ra and my colleagues in the Minority Caucus to propose cuts and provide real relief to New York’s struggling taxpayers,” Sempolinski said.  

“New York has no future as the tax and spending capital of the country. We can’t tax our way out of the affordability crisis,” Sempolinski said. “The only way to make New York a more attractive place to live and work is to cut taxes and cut spending. More taxes and bigger government aren’t the answer.”

Sempolinski, who represents the 148th Assembly District, said he wants to share what is going on in Albany and hear the concerns of residents first-hand.

“The city of Salamanca faces a unique set of challenges,” Sempolinski said. “It is important to me to get to all areas of the district to hear about local issues directly.”

This will be Sempolinski’s seventh town meeting since taking office in January of 2025.

“It’s so important for me to meet face-to-face with the people I represent to make sure I am faithfully bringing their concerns to the halls of power in Albany,” Sempolinski said. “I don’t work for anybody in Albany. I work for the people in the 148^th District and it’s my job to fight for common-sense legislation to improve their lives and ensure a brighter future for future generations.”Sempolinski to host town meeting in Salamanca Feb. 17 

Olean Star

ALBANY — As Gov. Kathy Hochul was winding down her State of the State Address Tuesday Assemblyman Joe Sempolinski, R-Canisteo, realized she hadn’t mentioned a top priority for his district — the Seneca Gaming Compact.

In a statement from his office, Sempolinski criticized the governor “for ignoring the expired gaming compact between the Seneca Nation and New York State.”

The assemblyman said, “Negotiating a new gaming compact with the Seneca Nation is critical for the Western New York economy. Seneca Gaming and Entertainment generates more than $2 billion in economic activity for the region and the Seneca Nation employs more than 4,000 people, most of them non-native.”

He added: “A new gaming compact is essential to the economic well-being of the 148^th District and all of Western New York.”

Since the original gaming compact between the Senecas and the state expired in December 2023, both parties have signed a series of extensions to keep operations running while negotiations continue. 

Local municipalities depend on fees supported by the agreement to fund essential services like police and fire protection.

“It’s beyond time for the governor to sit down with Seneca Nation President J.C. Seneca and negotiate a fair and equitable gaming compact that protects the interests of the Seneca Nation and New York State,” Assemblyman Sempolinski said.

Sempolinski also noted that while the governor talked about making life more affordable for New Yorkers, she didn’t explain how she would do that while at the same time paying for the new programs she outlined during her speech.

“New Yorkers suffer under one of the highest tax burdens in the country and its driving people out of New York to lower-cost states,” Sempolinski said. 

“The best way to address the high cost of living is to get government out of the way, cut spending and lower taxes,” he said. “I didn’t hear anything from the governor to make me believe she’s serious about cutting spending and making life more affordable for New York’s taxpayers.”

Sempolinski noted the state budget has ballooned from $177 billion in 2021, when Hochul became governor, to $254.3 billion now.

“We have a serious spending problem in New York that the governor seems incapable of addressing,” Sempolinski  said. “The state budget is more than a quarter of a trillion dollars. That’s irresponsible and indefensible. New York has no future as the tax and spending capital of America.” Sempolinski said.

A former Southern Tier congressman, Sempolinski represents the 148th Assembly Diustrict that includes all of Cattaraugus and Allegany counties and part of Steuben County.

State Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, called the governor right to focus on affordabilioty in her State of the State Address.

“New York State remains one of the highest-taxed and least affordable states in the nation, putting growing pressure on families, businesses, and communities,” Borrello said in a statement to the Olean Star. “Too many people feel squeezed, and too many employers are questioning whether they can keep growing here.”

In talking about affordability, Borrello said, “There are areas of agreement, including cracking down on car insurance fraud and joining the federal ‘no tax on tips’ initiative. But we did not hear anything about the broad-based tax cuts or structural reforms needed to change the state’s direction or reverse the outmigration that is hollowing out our economy. Instead, we heard once again that the answer is to spend billions more of New Yorkers’ hard-earned dollars.”

On energy and utility costs, Borrello said he supports “the governor’s focus on developing more nuclear power, but that is at least a decade away and will not help families today. If the governor is serious about lowering costs and improving reliability, she should expand access to natural gas and dependable baseload energy instead of waging war against them.”

Proposals like scrutinizing executive pay or creating an “affordability monitor” are window dressing,” Borrello said. “Utility rates are soaring because of Albany Democrats’ failed energy policies: the CLCPA, the all-electric building mandate, and the push toward costly, unreliable wind and solar. Until the Governor turns away from these policies, utility costs will remain a relentless burden for New Yorkers.”

Borrello said, “These same policies are also driving New York’s housing affordability crisis. The governor’s housing initiative will not reach its needed goals while the all-electric mandate remains in place and without restoring common sense rules like the 100-foot gas service standard. As long as Albany restricts access to natural gas, housing will remain more expensive to build, rent, and own. Period.”

Borrello said he was disappointed that the governor did not address “the state’s disastrous bail and discovery ‘reforms’ and other pro-criminal laws that continue to harm public safety and deny justice to victims. 

“The high car insurance rates the governor wants to fix are due, in large part, to soaring motor vehicle thefts, which rose more than 180 percent between 2019 and 2023, and to the state’s failure to close glaring loopholes in its drugged driving laws. 

“In addition, most categories of crime remain higher than they were before the bail and discovery changes, yet the governor and legislative Democrats seem content to normalize that reality rather than fix it, while continuing to push the same misguided approach of restricting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding New Yorkers.” Borrello said, “It was troubling to hear the governor’s anti-law enforcement rhetoric and her insistence on a policy of ‘non-cooperation’ with federal authorities, an approach that does nothing to make our communities safer.”

Senate Republicans on Monday “released our Save New York agenda. It offers the real prescription for turning this state around: a comprehensive, commonsense plan to cut taxes, lower energy, housing, and childcare costs, roll back costly mandates, restore public safety, and make New York affordable and livable again for hardworking families, seniors, and small businesses,” Borrello said.

“In the coming days, we’ll take a closer look at Gov. Hochul’s proposals, and especially her Executive Budget, which will be the real blueprint for what she wants to achieve. I agree with the Governor when she says ‘government should be a force for good.’ However, we disagree on what is truly ‘good’ for New York,” Borello said.

Olean Star

OLEAN — Nearly 150 attended Olean Veterans Day services Tuesday at the Lincoln Park Pavilion to thank veterans for their service.

Shaun App, commander of Olean American Legion Post 530 and Post 1619 VFW Commander Terry Vaughn struck the memorial bell at the southwest corner of the park to signify the time of the signing of the World War I Armistice at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918.

The bell bore a 2-inch thick coating of newly fallen snow, but their hammer strikes resonated across the park. The temperature hovered around freezing. 

Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts led those in attendance in the Pledge to the Flag. John Gordnier served as master of ceremonies introducing speakers Assemblyman Joe Sempolinski and Olean Mayor Bill Aiello.

The Olean High School Band performed “The National Anthem,” some with gloves on, and the High School Chorus sang “American the Beautiful.”

Sempolinski thanked veterans for their service and said the weather reminded him of the Revolutionary War and Valley Forge. He shared a personal story about his grandfather who fought in World War II. Like many veterans, he had difficulty discussing events in the war. 

Sempolinski said he spent time with his grandfather when he was young. He learned he fought in North Africa and received a Purple Heart. He said he learned later from family that his grandfather had not spoken about his experience in the war.

“And I bring him up because I think everybody here has someone (veteran) like in their extended family… I want everyone to maybe spend a moment with those veterans… and listen to them and be with them and to thank them.”

In his remarks, Aiello said, “Since the founding of the Republic, veterans have protected our nation, fought for our values in  the quest for our freedom. They have made personal sacrifices… and have experienced loss.”

Aiello added: “It’s on Veterans Day that we thank our veterans for defending the six promises set forth in the U.S. Constituition”: To form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for a common  defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty.

“I acknowledge our veterans for their noble service, for their dedication and commitment, for their strength and courage, for their bravery and optimism,” Aiello said. “Happy Veterans Day.”

A high school band member played Taps after a 21-gun  salute from members of the service organizations.

The Rev. Kim Rossi of St. Stephen’s Episcoipal Church asked those attending to thank veterans and to remember them and keep them in their prayers. “What they have done for us is something we value and we value them.”