COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATION JOINT WITH PUBLIC SAFETY & SECURITY
MINUTES: June 12, 2006, 1:30 PM
LEGISLATION MEMBERS: Chair: Young; Legislators: Rogowsky, Abinanti, Oros, Bronz, Burrows, Myers, Stewart-Cousins
IN ATTENDANCE: CEO: A. Neuman, K. Pasquale, K. Ryan, J. Jaquith; CA: R. Hoch; E. Cipollo; TOURISM: M. Jones, K. Sinistore; TLC: B. Monohan, J. DeMarco; BOL: B. Bochow, S. Bass, M. Amodio, M. Nardi, J. Ng; GUESTS: K. McLoughlin, D. McDermott
With a quorum present, the Committee on Legislation was called to order at 1:39 p.m.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION:
COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT ACT
Legislator Young presented the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) as an examination and rating of banks activity within a particular community in terms of lending, investment, and services.
Commissioner of Finance Peter Pucillo stated that, as requested, he acquired ratings from banks that the County currently does business with. CRA ratings are not completed on an annual basis, but the information is the most up to date for each of the banks.
Legislator Young indicated that the ratings that were compiled for each of the banks was incomplete as it reflected the central banks and not the branch banks that the County actually deals with.
Mr. Pucillo stated that he supports the need to pursue information from state banks and banks that do business with the County. He noted that finding information on specific banks on current websites that gather CRA ratings is very difficult.
Dennis McDermott, a retired banker, stated that there are several regulatory agencies that perform (CRA) ratings. Mr. McDermott noted that the FFIEC website allows visitors to view CRA evaluations on a community level, but Westchester County is included within the New York City community data. He suggested that the County could request break up data from specific banks to improve the level of information.
Legislator Young noted that the Board of Legislators needs CRA information on a County or local level rather than the information offered on a national level.
Legislator Stewart-Cousins expressed the need to reach out to Westchester banks for information and establish how they measure up to other banks.
Home Rule supporting Cameras on Sanitation Trucks in Westchester County
Katherine McLoughlin noted the urgency of moving the home rule request out of committee because the state legislative session ends next week. Ms. McLoughlin noted that the impact will be minimal as the law wouldn’t take effect until 2008. A survey of municipalities found that half already have these systems on their trucks. She noted that the executive committee will support this mandatory legislation.
(Burrows, Bronz) move to approve New York State Legislature Home Rule Request Resolution (A10528a (Galef)/S7174a (Spano)) requiring sani-vans or garbage trucks in Westchester County to be equipped with cameras. Motion passed 8-0.
Home Rule supporting Westchester Way License Plates
Margo Jones from Westchester County Tourism presented the design for the license plates. Ms. Jones stated that for every plate that is sold, $25 worth of revenue added to the trust fund. She wishes to move on this home rule request in order to replace the diminishing matching funds or “I Love NY” money. In a similar move to sell specialty plates in Queens, the borough generated $75,000 over three years.
(Myers, Bronz) to approve New York State Legislature Home Rule Request Resolution (S6361a (Spano)/ A9288a (Brodsky)) allowing for the production of and the assessment of a surcharge for distinctive ‘Westchester Way’ license plates. Motion passed 8-0.
(Burrows, Myers) Move to adjourn The Committee on Legislation. Motion passed 8-0. Committee on Legislation adjourned at 2:08 p.m.
Text: 
Print:
