NYT: NY Gov. Spitzer Requests Sweeping Array of New Measures: Health insurance for all children [View All]

Spitzer Requests Sweeping Array of New Measures
By DANNY HAKIM
Published: January 4, 2007

ALBANY, Jan. 3 — Gov. Eliot Spitzer proposed overhauling almost every corner of the state’s operations and policies in his first address to the Legislature on Wednesday. He said he would move swiftly to guarantee health insurance for all children in the state, toughen campaign finance laws, cut property taxes by $6 billion and draft constitutional amendments to overhaul the state’s courts.

The dizzying collection of ambitious proposals reflects how the new governor is moving quickly to capitalize on the momentum of his landslide victory and recent government corruption scandals to push through major initiatives early in his term. While some of the proposals were outlined during his campaign, in his speech to lawmakers he offered several new initiatives and promised to accomplish others during his first year in office.

“Make no mistake, the changes I just described will not be easy, but change rarely is,” he said near the end of the speech, in which he used the words “reform” or “reforms” 31 times. “At every major transition point in our history, we have experienced uncertainty and growing pains. We will experience them again.”

In an hourlong address that was largely a repudiation of the policies of his predecessor, George E. Pataki, the new governor said he would seek to broadly overhaul the state’s ethics and lobbying rules. He said he would make prekindergarten available to all 4-year-olds by the end of his term, overhaul the public authorities that control most of the state’s debt and make New York more inviting to business by reducing the cost of workers’ compensation.

The speech came two days after his inaugural address, in which he laid out the broad themes of his administration. Wednesday’s speech, by contrast, included the outlines of the specific proposals that he hopes to accomplish in the year ahead and in his first term, as he appealed directly to lawmakers....

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/04/nyregion/04spitzer.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin