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MEDIA CONTACTS:

Lise Bang-Jensen, New York State Bar Association, (518) 463-3200 or lbang-jensen@nysba.org
Nick Crounse, Albany Law School, (518) 445-3208 or ncrou@albanylaw.edu

October 13, 2011

GOVERNMENT, LAW AND POLICY JOURNAL TACKLES NEW YORK’S BUDGET WITH LATEST ISSUE

Published by the NYSBA Committee on Attorneys in Public Service with Albany Law School’s Government Law Center, topics include Medicaid, school finance, tax structure

ALBANY, N.Y. – The recently released issue of the Government, Law and Policy Journal offers a comprehensive analysis of “New York State’s Budget: Conflicts and Challenges” through a variety of articles by legal scholars, government officials and nonprofit executives.

Articles in the state budget issue include:
• “New York’s Spending: A State Like No Other”
• “Changing the Terms of New York State’s Budget Conversation”
• “Medicaid in New York: A Half Century of Care, Cost and Controversy”

The Government, Law and Policy Journal is published by the New York State Bar Association State Bar’s Committee on Attorneys in Public Service, in cooperation with the Government Law Center (GLC) of Albany Law School.

“This issue of the journal contains some fascinating articles on the often contentious budgeting process in New York,” said Peter Loomis, chair of the Committee on Attorneys in Public Service. “It should be required reading for everyone involved in creating the state budget, as well as anyone with a stake in the outcome.”

Abraham Lackman, the Clarence D. Rappleyea Government Scholar in Residence at the GLC, served as guest editor for this issue of the journal. He also contributed the article “New York’s Economy: From Stagnation to Decline.”

“While I am delighted that Albany Law School and the New York State Bar Association have published this important edition of the Government, Law and Policy Journal, the issue’s content serves as a reminder that New York state’s economy and budget have been in a state of crisis for a number of years, and that the prognosis is cloudy, at best,” said Lackman, former secretary of the Senate Finance Committee.

“One of the Government Law Center’s primary responsibilities is to serve as a bridge between government policy and the law,” said Patricia Salkin, director of the center and associate dean at Albany Law School. “Supporting publications, such as the Government, Law and Policy Journal, is one way we contribute meaningfully and practically to the public debate.”

Authors of the budget issue bring years of expertise to the subject. In addition to Lackman, they include: David S. Liebschutz, professor, Rockefeller College of University at Albany; Mitchell J. Pawluk, attorney, Harris Beach PLLC; James M. McGuire, counsel to former Governor George E. Pataki; Shawn MacKinnon, assistant director, Senate Finance Committee; Michael A. Rebell, executive director, Campaign for Educational Equity; Richard Ravitch, former lieutenant governor; and Robert D. Plattner, deputy commissioner for tax policy, state Department of Taxation and Finance.

Also: Charles Brecher , executive vice president, Citizens Budget Commission; Tammy P. Gammerman, senior research associate, Citizens Budget Commission; E.J. McMahon, senior fellow, Empire Center for New York State Policy; John F. Cape, former state budget director;  Eugene M. Laks, principal drafter of state Medicaid reimbursement legislation (1984 to 1996); Seymour P.  Lachman, director of Hugh L. Carey Institute for Government Reform, Wagner College;  Mary Louise Mallick, senior policy advisor to state comptroller; Kenneth W. Bond, attorney, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP; and Robert B. Ward, deputy director, Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government.

Previous issues of the Government Law and Policy Journal have focused on public authority reform, restructuring of local government, government ethics, police oversight and access to government. The next issue will explore issues in government oversight.

The GOVERNMENT LAW CENTER of Albany Law School is the first and most comprehensive government law program at any ABA-approved law school in the country. The center also serves as a legal and policy research resource for all levels of government. The center conducts educational programs and research on a wide range of topics both on its own initiative and at the request of government agencies and other organizations. Visit www.albanylaw.edu/glc.

ALBANY LAW SCHOOL is a small, independent private school in the heart of New York state’s capital since 1851. As the oldest law school in New York and the oldest independent law school in the nation, the institution offers students an innovative, rigorous curriculum taught by a committed faculty. Several nationally recognized programs—including the Government Law Center and the Albany Law Clinic & Justice Center—provide opportunities for students to apply classroom learning. Students have access to New York's highest court, federal courts, the executive branch and the state legislature. With more than 9,000 alumni practicing in every state in the country, and several continents, the employment rate for graduates has been well above the national average for law schools for the past 30 years. Visit www.albanylaw.edu.

The NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION, founded in 1876, is the nation’s largest voluntary state bar association. It has 77,000 members in New York as well as other states and countries.  Among its objectives are:  enhancing legal education and professional development; facilitating the administration of justice;  promoting reform in the law; applying its knowledge and experience for the public good; and promoting these objectives among other bar associations in the state. Visit www.nysba.org.

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