COLD SPRING – State Senator Rob Rolison (R-Poughkeepsie) wants the state to be better prepared to offer financial assistance after storm damage following Governor Kathy Hochul’s recent warning of more consistent severe weather. She said severe weather, such as the rains and flooding that caused millions of dollars of damage in the Hudson Valley is the “new normal.”
In a tweet, Hochul said, “Make no mistake: This is our new normal. We are the first generation to feel the impacts of climate change & the last generation with a shot at doing anything about it.”
Rolison, who represents portions of Putnam County that were severely impacted by flooding, wants the state to get funds to his district to help the rebuilding process.
The lawmaker said the state must take swifter action in conditions such as that which struck the regionm recently.
“You can call it whatever you’d like to call it (but) we need to change what we’re (Albany) doing because the state is under the ‘old normal’. If there is a new normal, then how we react to help indivuduals and businesses get through these things, we are going to have to change the way we get money into the hands of people as quickly as possible,” Rolison said.
The freshman senator is advocating for changes to the policy that will streamline the assistance process. “We’re going to have to change what we’re doing when it comes to getting money in the hands of people as quickly as possible.”
Rolison plans to work with fellow Albany lawmakers to get the financial assistance delivered sooner. “There is money available,” he said but noted that the process often takes months to distribute the help.
