New York Assembly passes consolidation bill

Long Island Business News, Jun 2, 2009 by David Reich-Hale

By a 118-26 margin, the state Assembly has passed the local government consolidation bill pitched by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

If passed, the law would allow voters to petition to erase special districts, towns and villages. According to Cuomo, the state has more than 10,000 local governments, including special taxing districts.

The bill has widespread support, though some village leaders, including Patchogue Mayor Paul Pontieri, are against the bill, arguing that local government is better than vast government.

The Senate Local Government Committee passed its own version of the bill last week. That bill still needs the support of the entire Senate.