Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo took lots of heat back on September 25th, 2018, when reporters asked him why so many people were leaving the state. The heat, or lack of it, was his excuse.
“Somebody wants to move to Florida because they want to move to Florida. God bless them. They want to fish. They want warm weather,” said Cuomo to media following a speech at a conference in Lake George.
Not many folks believed it back then, even fewer do so now.
That is just one reason why one Democratic and one Republican lawmaker in the New York State Assembly and Senate want to launch a formal, data driven study to answer a very specific question: why are people leaving New York State in droves?
NYS Senator Jim Tedisco (R,C-Saratoga Springs) and Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara (D-Rotterdam) jointly announced a proposed bill that would establish a New York State commission on out-migration.
“I’m ‘the numbers don’t lie.’ People are heading for the doors and escaping from New York in a mass exodus. When enough people who can afford to leave New York State are gone, who will be left to pay for the infrastructure, health care, police, schools, and other necessities? It’s time to stop just talking about this exodus and take action to reverse the trend. Keeping the status quo is not an option,” said Senator Tedisco.
The numbers do not bode well for New York taxpayers.
A most recent study released by the United States Census Bureau, released in December of last year, New York suffered the largest population loss in the entire country, with 101,984 leaving the Empire State over a one year period.
New York was one of only eight states in the nation to lose population.
Southern states accounted for 87% of population growth according to the Census Bureau.
Texas saw the most population gains in the country, gaining 473,453 people. Florida’s population grew the second largest, followed by Florida, adding 365,205 people.
Anecdotally lawmakers have strong opinions on why people are leaving New York in record numbers.
“Crime has been an issue. But there are other issues, that we also expect this commission to examine, areas like agriculture, energy needs [and] opportunities, health care, economic development, the environment, education and mandate and tax relief are a few that I hope to see in there," said Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara.
The proposed legislation on the Senate side of the aisle, referred to the Senate Commerce, Economic Development, and Small Business Committee, is co-sponsored by Senators George Borrello, Mario Mattera, Dean Murray, and Peter Oberacker.
Thirteen people would constitute the migration commission, with appointments coming from the Governor, Assembly Speaker, Temporary President of the Senate, Senate Minority Leader, and Assembly Minority Leader.
Hearings would then be held in ten regions across New York State. A final report would be issued along with specific recommendations on how to stop people from leaving New York.