[NLA] Fwd: Metro Briefing New York

[Gail Spangenberg]

Colleagues, And here's another bit of bad news -- from the New York 
State front.

>
>
>ALBANY: PATAKI VETOES BILL Gov. George E. Pataki has vetoed a bill 
>that would have required welfare recipients to acquire reading and 
>English skills. The legislation would have made local social 
>services departments provide basic skills training of up to 16 hours 
>a week to all welfare recipients who had not obtained a high school 
>diploma or its equivalent. The governor said it was laudable to 
>provide welfare recipients with the skills that could make them more 
>employable. But in his veto message, he said that by "de-emphasizing 
>the primary importance of work, the bill could have a detrimental 
>effect on recipients achieving self-sufficiency." Current law 
>authorizes social services districts to assign recipients to work, 
>education and other activities and that power should stay with the 
>districts, the governor said. He also said that Mayor Michael R. 
>Bloomberg's administration had urged him to veto the bill.    (AP)
>
>http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/26/nyregion/26MBRF1.html 
>http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/26/nyregion/26MBRF1.html
>
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