Governor Andrew Cuomo has written to state Senator Patty Ritchie on the success of the just-completed legislative session, hailing unprecedented, bipartisan efforts that have resulted in sweeping tax cuts, new jobs and an improving economy as proof that “This is a New York that is working.”

“Working together, we have continued an array of important achievements over the past 18 months that have changed the face of government in our state and helped build a renewed sense of optimism among our people,” Cuomo wrote, specifically listing tax cuts, Medicaid mandate relief and job creation initiatives aimed at kick-starting the state’s economy.

The accomplishments of the past two years marked a sea change from prior sessions, when Albany was branded the nation’s “most dysfunctional” legislature.

The achievements have included:

· Enactment of a tough property tax cap that is saving homeowners in Republican Ritchie’s 48th Senate District more than $36 million in school taxes this year alone;

· Passage of the Middle Class Tax Cut lowering New York’s income tax rates to their lowest in 58 years;

· Elimination of the state sales tax on most clothing purchases, saving families hundreds of dollars annually;

· Over $100 million in mandate relief, including a clampdown on Medicaid costs;

· Job creation programs, such as creation of Regional Economic Development Councils, which Ritchie says have helped make New York the fastest job-growing state in the US, including 4,000 new jobs in Central and Northern New York since 2010.

“New York is growing and improving because we put politics aside and are working together to get results, and create jobs for New Yorkers,” said Ritchie, who has welcomed the governor and lieutenant governor Robert Duffy on their many visits to Central and Northern New York.

“I want to thank Governor Cuomo for his leadership, and for the attention he’s paid to the most pressing issues facing the hardworking taxpayers of our communities—the need for more jobs and a stronger economy—and I look forward to continuing to work with him to keep moving New York in the right direction.”

A copy of Governor Cuomo’s letter to Senator Ritchie can be seen at http://www.scribd.com/doc/99825644/Letter-from-Gov-Cuomo-on-successful-2012-Session.