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Cuomo’s top priorities
04/25/2012 05:56 PM
By: Zack Fink

Governor Cuomo is eyeing the end of the legislative session and has some new goals in mind. YNN's Zack Fink looks at what the governor's top priorities are.

NEW YORK STATE -- Governor Cuomo says he's already accomplished 90 percent of the things on his 'to do' list for this legislative session. The remaining issues include campaign finance reform, raising the minimum wage and determining what portion of teacher evaluations to make public.

"If you ask me to handicap, I think teacher evaluation privacy disclosure, whatever you want to call it, is probably the most likely to be resolved of the three," Cuomo said.

The negotiations over evaluations have been conducted largely out of public view. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has been a very public supporter of raising the minimum wage.

"We have a moral imperative to make sure or at least help people who work a 35 hour week should not be poor. And if they work at the minimum wage today, under our standards, they are poor," Silver said.

Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos was not optimistic about campaign finance reform, which could include public financing of campaigns.

"I've estimated that this could cost the state upwards of $2 million. Which we just cannot afford," Skelos said.

Governor Cuomo says with much of the legislative agenda being settled, he is now focused on what he calls the other part of his job which is governing. That includes implementing the initiatives that have been passed and signed.




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