Craig Johnson

Redistricting bill passes Senate committee
Tuesday, May 4, 2010, 4:47 PM by Bryan Fitzgerald

In an attempt to make the upcoming redistricting process less partisan, a bill passed through the Senate Standing Committee on Investigations Tuesday that would create an independent redistricting commission and end the current practice of allowing the majority leaders of each house to essentially draw their own lines.

The committee heard testimony from former New York City major Ed Koch, a staunch advocate of adopting an independent commission.

"The can and the bottle may say Arizona, but the content on the inside is made by New Yorkers," said New York state Senator Craig Johnson.

The proviso in New York’s public pension system that ensures even convicted embezzlers can continue to collect retirement benefits has long been a sore point with a lot of people, and nowhere is that more evident than in the Long Island community of Roslyn where the former school superintendent Frank Tassone fleeced taxpayers for more than $2 million and was sent to prison in 2006.

"We're not going to see any megaprojects in the foreseeable future," Johnson said. "The best thing is to try and ensure that we are reducing the spending that occurs with regard to any megaproject. Now is not the time to be contemplating the big projects."