2023 Advocacy Day Follow-Up / Action Item / Let's Keep This Going!Send a Thank You Letter to Your RepresentativesThank you to everyone who made it to Advocacy Day on March 8th. Our voices were heard and both the Senate and Assembly One House Budget Proposals that were released last week included additional funding for local transportation infrastructure. And, thank you to all of you who participated in pre-meetings or reached out to your Legislators with our Local Roads Are Essential request. Our work is not done, we must keep up the momentum by reaching out to Legislators again, supporting the one house budget proposals and asking for these critical funding increases to remain in the final negotiated budget. ACTION ITEM: We ask you to please take the time to send these letters (personalize them how you wish) to your state lawmakers as soon as possible. Our window is short since the on-time budget deadline is rapidly approaching on April 1st. Contact Information for Your Legislators Click on your Legislator’s name to go to their website and find contact information (email and mailing address). Find Your State Assembly Member Text of Letter (for Cutting and Pasting) The Honorable First Name Last Name Date Dear (Senator or Assemblymember) Last Name: I joined over 600 of my colleagues in Albany on March 8th asking for your support for increased local road and bridge funding in the 2023-24 Budget. Thank you! Both One-House Capital Budget bills recommend substantial increases to local transportation programs. As you know, record-high inflation has caused highway construction materials costs to soar, reducing the spending power of every municipal highway department in the state. If funding isn’t increased in the state budget our local construction programs will be reduced to the lowest levels since 2015—a level of funding that produced the worst decline in pavement conditions ever. NYSCHSA and NYSAOTSOH’s collective membership of municipalities is responsible for ensuring the safe operation of 87 percent of the state’s public roads, half of its bridges and plowing not only our huge system but over a quarter of the New York State Department of Transportation’s roads. We are encouraged by your steadfast support and urge you to continue the fight to secure increases in CHIPS and our other local program funding in the Final Budget. Let me know if there is anything more I can do to help with your efforts. Sincerely, Your Name Thank You for Helping Keep the Momentum Going!
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