Ceretto: Assembly must OK UB 2020 now

Assemblyman John Ceretto, R-I-Lewiston, a sponsor of UB 2020's strategic plan (A.5799), released a statement on Friday in response to a Buffalo News editorial urging the State Assembly to follow the Senate's lead and pass critical UB 2020 legislation to reform higher education in Western New York.

"I agree that the Assembly needs to pass UB 2020 legislation this year in order to provide the University at Buffalo with the tools and resources it needs to become one of the most advanced research and academic institutions in the nation," Ceretto said. "UB 2020 will create thousands of good-paying jobs and foster hundreds of private-sector businesses that will not only employ hard-working Western New Yorkers, but will bolster our local tax base and help drive down property taxes.

"My Western New York Assembly colleagues from both sides of the aisle are committed to passing this bill, and I believe that our advocacy combined with the support of students, faculty, and residents for the legislation will help change opinions in Albany and help ensure this bill's rapid approval. Unfortunately, the roadblock to an up or down vote is the leadership of the Assembly Democrats who are unwilling to allow a vote on the floor of the people's house.

"I am hopeful that with the last major hurdle to passage overcome - higher tuition costs, which have been changed so that only families making more than $60,000 a year would see tuition rise over 2010 tuition levels - my Assembly colleagues would see fit to pass this bill without further delay."