The legislative session in Albany is drawing to a close and there is still a tremendous amount of work to be done. We have a short period of time to complete the unfinished business that Long Islanders deserve to have resolved so that New York can get back on the right track. In the coming days, Albany has a great deal left on the table: capping property taxes, ethics reform, and private sector job creation. Long Islanders deserve our commitment.

New York has a property tax crisis. Property tax rates in our state are nearly double the national average. While there was an announcement of an agreement on the property tax cap over two weeks ago, the legislation has been held hostage by the Assembly Majority rather than receiving an up-or-down vote, a vote I have been calling for all along.

I also have sponsored property tax cap legislation, Assembly bill 3897-B, the New York State Property Taxpayers Protection Act. This legislation would cap property taxes at 2 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower, and also includes unfunded mandate relief for Nassau County and local school districts.

I strongly support ethics reform and have been leading the charge against Albany’s pay-to-play culture since I took office. The anti-corruption proposal Governor Cuomo talked about Monday mirrors what I have been pushing for in Albany. As deliberations continue, we cannot lose sight of the fact that Albany has been plagued by scandal and embarrassment for years now – and several of those scandals occurred in the last few years, after a previous round of ethics reforms had been passed.

It was reported last week that the national jobless rate actually increased, climbing from 9 percent to 9.1 percent. This seemingly small change has big implications as it means thousands of additional people on the unemployment line.

For the first time in years, business owners in New York seem to have lawmakers and a governor who understand that you cannot attract job creators with a big-spending government which continually resorts to raising taxes. However, we have yet to see the implications of the governor’s economic development initiatives. It’s time to stop delaying and start putting the people of the Empire State back to work.

Albany has just a short time left to finish the people’s work. If we cannot pass a property tax cap, strengthen our ethics laws, and open the door for small-business job creators, this session will be the latest in a string of wasted opportunities. Governor Cuomo and state lawmakers have made great strides this year, but it’s important we finish what we’ve started. It’s vitally important to the future prosperity of our great state.