Hawley asks Speaker Heastie to put ‘2 New Yorks’ bill up for a vote
ALBANY – State Assemblyman Steve Hawley is pushing to have a vote in the Assembly to allow a public referendum throughout the state, asking whether the state should be divided into two states.
Hawley has pushed for the vote for several years. He wrote the letter to Heastie on Tuesday, motivated to “as a result of the high flux of controversial legislation that has passed the Assembly in recent weeks including expanding abortion, free college for illegal aliens and stricter gun control.”
Hawley is asking Heastie to help bring the “Two New Yorks” legislation through committee and come to the house floor for a full vote.
“This is an idea that has been discussed for many years, and one which is especially popular throughout upstate New York,” Hawley said in a news release. “It has become abundantly clear in recent years that the New York City voting bloc has forgotten upstate and is imposing their radical left-wing agenda on all of us, whether we like it or not. And that is deeply troubling. This bill simply gives citizens a say on the direction of their state. If downstate politicians really don’t need upstate, as many of them claim, then there’s no harm in at least asking the question if we should be divided.”
In his letter to Heastie on Jan. 29, Hawley writes:
“ I am respectfully requesting you to help facilitate reporting my legislation, A. 1687, out of the Local Governments Committee on to the floor for a vote.
“A.1687 would provide for a non-binding referendum on the question ‘Should New York be divided into two States?’ to ascertain from our constituents their thoughts on the division of New York into two separate states. This bill would help us and our citizens to gauge the support, or lack of support, for this initiative. I have received a myriad of contacts on this issue — especially in light of the measures that have been jettisoned through the Legislature in the past two weeks. Many believe we already have ‘Two New Yorks.’”
