AS SENATE DEMS ADVANCE SIMILAR LEGISLATION, RA URGES ASSEMBLY TO TAKE UP HIS NON-PARTISAN RESEARCH AND POLICY BILL

Ed Ra (photo - NWN)

Assemblyman Ed Ra (R,C,I-Franklin Square), who represents areas of the North Shore School District, is urging his Assembly colleagues to sponsor and advance legislation he authored and has carried for years that would create a nonpartisan office of  policy research and analysis that would serve lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
 
With Senate Democrats quickly moving their version of the bill through committee, Mr Ra's office said through a press release that "he sees an opportunity to get the issue on the governor’s desk and signed into law this year."
           
“We need facts. We need statistics. We need reliable data, and we need to hear from experts. Research and critical policy analysis doesn’t need partisan spin. Certainly, we can have philosophical differences, but we should be operating from the same set of facts,” said Ra.
 
The analysts would also be tasked with generating an annual internal report, testifying at key legislative hearings and spearheading policy workshops.
 
Selecting a policy director would be a bipartisan process. Ra noted the importance of similar federal entities, including the Congressional Budget Office. He also pointed to the California Legislative Analyst’s office as another non-partisan agency that provides valuable programmatic and fiscal advice to Republicans and Democrats.
 
“The people of the state of New York are going to benefit from this. It’s about making sure we’re as well-informed as we possibly can be,” said Ra. “In the age of social media, the temptation to relentlessly spin, to suggest partisan memes amount to solutions for our common problems, is everywhere. I’m hopeful that this will keep us honest.”
BACK TO HOME PAGE

---