Governor Cuomo is giving a challenge to the state Legislature to enact ethics reforms quickly, or face the possibility that a 5th straight on time budget will not happen:

(Cuomo 2-13-15)

Cuomo reiterated the need for ethics reforms for lawmakers, after Sheldon silver became the most recent legislative leader to be arrested on corruption charges. The state budget is due April 1st
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Local Assemblyman Cliff Crouch is not happy that the governor has given a “My Way or The Highway” approach to negotiating ethics reforms & tying it the state budget, and the state aid numbers for school districts:

(Crouch 2-13-15)

Crouch said that other portions of the education budget involve a revamp of the teacher evaluation system, and a change in the tenure requirements to make it easier to fire teachers with tenure who have performed criminal acts or failed to get their students to perform.
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Congressman Chris Gibson attended Thursday’s White House bill signing ceremony for the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, which increases access to mental health care for military personnel and veterans. Congressman Gibson co-authored the legislation, which calls for creates a peer support and community outreach pilot program to assist transitioning servicemen and women, It also requires an independent third party to conduct annual evaluations of VA mental health and suicide prevention programs, authorizes the VA to collaborate with non-profit organizations to improve the efficiency of suicide prevention efforts, and starts a loan repayment program to help recruit new psychiatric caregivers. The legislation is named for Marine Corporal Clay Hunt, who was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder & faced delays for treatment, in 2011, Hunt took his own life.