» Letter of support for toll removal from Assembly Albany’s Insanity: When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty. Thomas Jefferson

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Today I received this letter of support for removal of the tolls from the Grand Island Bridges from Assembly Minority Leader Jim Tedisco. The Assembly Bill number is A.10003 and the Senate Bill number is S.6824

We now have Bill numbers for both houses in Albany so we will be able to track them as this important legislation moves forward. This is great news for all of us here in Western New York, not only will this help Grand Island out economically, this will save the taxpayers of Western New York over 25 Million dollars a year. This legislation will stop the insane commuter tax forced upon the people simply wanting to get to and from work.

By removing the Thruway Authority from the 190 is the first step in many that will work to make the thruway authority smaller and hopefully in the future spark the removal of the tolls from across New York State.

This also opens the door for Federal funding that is so desperately needed to not only maintain the bridges but to start the process of building new bridges. We all pay federal gasoline taxes and every other road tax plus the trucking industry pays more than we could ever think of. It is high time we received our share of federal road use taxes back from the Washington D.C.

I want to openly Thank Senator George Maziarz for picking up this idea and writing the legislation. Assemblyman Sam Hoyt for picking up and sponsoring this in the Assembly and Assembly Minority Leader Tedisco for getting all the Republican support.

Now we have to get Governor Spitzer to expedite this legislation and sign it into Law. The Governor has promised to help rebuild the economy in WNY, this would be a great commitment by him to do just that.

Dear Mr. Thompson:

Thank you for your letter supporting Senate Bill 6824. It is a pleasure to hear from you again.

As I’m sure you know, my Assembly Republican colleagues have signed on to A.10003, companion bill to S.6824. If passed, this legislation will turn over the Niagara Section of the NYS Thruway to the Department of Transportation, therefore, federal aid can be used to repair and build safer bridges. A.10003 has been referred to the Assembly Corporations, Authorities and Commissions Committee. Rest assured that my Assembly Republican colleagues and I will take your thoughts into careful consideration during further deliberations on this issue.

You may be interested to learn about the Assembly Republican Conference’s 2008 legislative agenda, ReNew NY, which includes our solutions for reducing property taxes, protecting families and neighborhoods, creating and retaining jobs here in New York, nurturing strong educational opportunities, and reforming government in order to improve the overall quality of life for all New Yorkers. My Assembly Republican colleagues and I hope that you will join us in making New York State the best possible place to live, work, and raise a family.

If you have any further questions or concerns, or would like a copy of ReNew NY, pleased do not hesitate to contact me.