(soft music) (upbeat music) - [Announcer] The Association of Public Television Stations of New York present "Inside Albany," a public affairs program designed to make you a witness to the governmental news of the week in the state's Capitol.

A close-up look at the people and the actions that can affect change in the way we live.

The reporters for this weekly journey "Inside Albany" are Dave Hepp and Peg Breen.

- Good evening.

I'm Dave Hepp.

- And I'm Peg Breen.

Welcome to "Inside Albany."

Tonight and in the weeks ahead, we'll be showing you state government in action and explaining how those actions affect you.

To do this, we'll be covering a legislature, the governor, and the various state agencies.

- Now, we are here in Albany.

We have the unique capability through the eight public television stations of New York of receiving reports and reaction to what's happening here from the population centers of the state.

The story this week, of course, is Governor Hugh Carey's first state of the state message, delivered yesterday to a joint opening session of the 198th legislature.

The new governor outlined a gloomy picture of the state's financial condition and the rather harsh measures he intends to take to correct it.

Said Carey, "The days of wine and roses are over."

- Echoing the theme of his inaugural, the governor declared that New York State must now begin to live within its means.

To achieve that end, Governor Carey called for an immediate state hiring freeze, a 10 cent a gallon increase in the state gasoline tax, an increase in taxes for those he described as more fortunate and able to pay, tax increases on certain activities, which he did not specify, public employees to forego pay increases or place layoffs, drastic cuts and aid to localities coupled with suggestions of local income taxes, and cuts in the cost of municipal government.

- That's just an outline of the Carey approach to averting financial crisis in New York State.

Here is part of the grim message as delivered by the governor yesterday.

- Accordingly, I have ordered that there will be an immediate freeze on state hiring for the balance of the fiscal year.

I urge that every local government adopt a similar freeze in every area, save only the most vital expenditures for public health and safety.

However, immediate economies for the balance of this year are about an introduction to what is required for the coming year and for the future of state government.

In the year ahead, I invite you to join with us in what I intend should be the most searching and critical review of state and local government and all programs and expenditures that we've had in a generation.

Item by item, line by line, there will be a thorough review of every taxpayer's dollar we budget.

The first budget of this administration must be presented within three weeks before the full reexamination I intend can be completed.

As to this budget, we begin with a fundamental fact that we must close the immense gap we now face between our resources and our current programs, and there are only two ways to do it.

First is to raise revenues, which means taxes.

Over 40% of the state's total personal income is absorbed by income, social security, and sales and property taxes, particularly as it affects the poor and the hardworking middle classes.

This is an unsupportable and confiscatory burden.

This tax burden is especially inequitable because so great a portion of it is in the regressive sales tax in which some parts of the state now, we take 8 cents out of a dollar spent by even the poorest family.

Over the long run, we will undertake a fundamental reexamination of the entire state and local tax structure to raise needed revenues more fairly and productively.

To meet the financial emergency of this fiscal year, we must immediately raise certain taxes on those more fortunate and able to pay as well as taxes on certain activities, with a single exception, however.

I intend these new taxes as temporary measures only, pending the full review of state and local programs that will be carried on during the coming year and even in the present, in this emergency, we cannot and I pledge that we will not increase the sales tax rate or income taxes on the great majority of our citizens.

(audience applauds) Therefore, much of this year's budget gap, the preponderance in the following year must be closed by cuts in the cost of government, not cosmetic, not painless excisions, into waste, although all waste must be eliminated, but deep and hurtful cuts into cherished programs affecting thousands of government employees and hundreds of thousands of citizens.

- The governor assured the legislature he would cut, but not destroy the budget.

He then went on to elaborate his proposals for aid to localities.

- Any effort to cut the cost of government in the state would be futile if it did not address the local assistance which represents 70% of the entire state budget.

I will therefore in this session of the legislature send appropriate amendments to the law's governing state reimbursement formula, including those governing education, Medicare, and public assistance, amendments of the educational formula to fully reflect the decline of enrollment in many areas and to move toward a true enrollment formula generally is only one example.

For the budget I will shortly present, the state is required by law to reimburse the expenditures of local authorities according to the existing formula.

I intend therefore to consider state support to localities on a two-year basis.

Assuming that present economic conditions continue, my local assistance budget for 1976-77 will incorporate necessary economies for both 1975-76 and 1976-77.

I therefore appeal to every local spending authority now receiving funds under a reimbursement formula to voluntarily cut its budget to the maximum extent possible this year, applying the savings to the far leaner budget that we must all face in the year that will follow.

How these economies ought to be affected is a matter for the informed wisdom of the local authorities.

What is absolutely required is that the economies be made.

We will work with local authorities to solve the difficulties we share.

We will attempt to help with special problems such as those faced by many cities in the wake of the decision of the court of appeals in the Herd case last year.

But all our efforts cannot and must not obscure the essential fact that Albany cannot solve every immediate local problem, nor is this a temporary condition.

We must all live by the rule of austerity for as far ahead as we can see.

This administration cannot and will not crush the taxpayers to support unwired increases in local budgets when the budget of every household in a state is in itself under stringency.

The savings must be up to you.

In this regard, the mayors of New York City and Buffalo, two men steeped in the tradition of the municipal service, have taken the lead with courage and foresight.

- Today there are reports that New York City's mayor, Abe Beame, and Buffalo's budget director, Philip Cook, turned thumbs down on Carey's proposals.

The governor moved from fiscal matters to reform, first of the courts.

- As to the courts, I will shortly issue an executive order setting forth procedures to ensure that all judges appointed by me will be subjected to the most rigorous screening and evaluation for their quality and qualifications.

No new judges will be appointed before that order is issued.

More importantly, I urge the early enactment of a constitutional amendment providing for appointment of judges by the governor under a merit system.

I urge speedy enactment of the amendment already proposed to facilitate the discipline and removal of judges.

Pending passage of that amendment, I fully support the temporary Commission on Judicial Conduct created last year.

Finally, I will await neither new legislation nor the actions of others to exercise the full power of my office.

Whenever it appears appropriate, I will request the chief judge to convene the court on the judiciary to remove judges who, whether by reason of incompetence, impropriety, or simple refusal to work, are not fulfilling their responsibilities.

Second, as to the executive departments, I intend to eliminate entirely the plague of no show commissions and bodies simply and directly.

Unnecessary commissions will be eliminated from the budget.

Those that perform a needed function will be maintained, but under new circumstances.

No longer will anyone receive full-time pay for part-time work.

I shall also require by executive order the fullest and most rigorous disclosure of the financial interest of policymaking officials.

Appropriate elements of this information will be made public.

No higher official is drafted or compelled to serve.

We are all volunteers and these are now the minimum requirements for public service in the state of New York.

I will also eliminate duplicative and unnecessary offices.

State agencies will operate from Albany, not from offices that happen to be convenient for their commissioners.

The capital of this state is not New York City or elsewhere.

The capital of New York is Albany.

I shall be here, I shall work here, and so shall the government of this state.

(audience applauds) Third, as to the Senate and Assembly, I have spent my political life in a legislature.

I know how fiercely and properly you guard your independence, but I urge you to impose on yourselves the same kind of rigorous disclosure and ethical rules I have ordered the executive departments as well as comparable economies.

In this regard, I will offer legislation for your most serious consideration.

Fourth, as to political campaigns, one area in which we cannot afford not to act is to provide widely-based public support for political campaigns.

Every elected official in this chamber, myself included, knows how destructive it is of the political process and how demeaning it is to those who participate in it for candidates to beg campaign funds from large contributors, too many of whom anticipate that government will do for them more than they have done for government.

Accordingly, I will propose to the legislation amendment to the income tax law granted to every taxpayer credit against his state income tax for political contributions up to $10 a year.

This will be coupled with rigorous new limits on large contributions and I will use every resource at the governor's command to ensure that the laws are enforced.

It has become common to speak of challenging the system by which political power serves private greed.

I do not challenge it.

I declare that for this government in New York State, the system is over.

(audience applauds) - Carey specifically referred to government corruption later in the speech as it relates to the ongoing nursing home investigations.

- The governor was rushed by television time and eliminated much of his 18-page printed message.

For instance, he did not verbally ask for that controversial hike in the state gasoline tax.

He did also call for new consumer protection measures, emergency aid for the Urban Development Corporation, and a budget hike for the Mental Hygiene Department.

- Now to reaction.

There was a general feeling that Carey's speech could just as easily have been delivered by his conservative Republican predecessor, Malcolm Wilson.

Here's Republican senate majority leader, Warren Anderson.

- Senator, what was your reaction to the state of the state message?

- Well, I was frankly disappointed, perhaps not as disappointed as I'm sure some people will be who voted for Governor Carey.

During the campaign, he talked about holding the tax line.

He talked about increasing the state's share of education.

Today he reversed himself 180 degrees on both those issues and I was just disappointed.

- Does this mean that they're going to have tough passage in the Senate if they pass at all?

- Well, the idea of increasing gasoline tax is 10 cents in one state.

It seems to me to put a cruel burden on those people who need their car to go to work or to go to the market and I just can't see it happening.

- Right.

Is there any explanation that he could offer you that would make you change your mind and taxes in other areas, taxes on higher income groups?

- Well, let me say that all the examination that I've made, and I've read the Council of Economic, their report that he referred to, I've read that report.

It isn't quite as bleak as he led us to believe today, though it is not overly encouraging.

I maintain that for the next year, we can continue to do those things we're now doing without increasing taxes.

I said that earlier and I still maintain that position.

- So tax measures will not pass in the Senate if you can help.

- That's right.

- Thank you, Senator.

For more reaction to the state of the state, we're speaking with the new assembly minority leader, Perry Duryer.

Mr. Duryer, what was your reaction to the governor's message?

- Well, I think the governor has advanced an approach to state government that is intolerable.

He suggested an imposition of local taxes, additional local taxes, the imposition of additional state taxes, and as well, a reduction in the state participation in the funding of local government.

This hits the poor taxpayer on three levels and I'm sure that in the economic cycle in which we find ourselves now that people in New York State cannot afford this approach.

- What kind of reaction do you expect his measures will receive in the assembly?

- Well, certainly from the Republican side, I would suspect that the recommendation of additional taxes on any level, whether it's the real property taxpayer who's supporting education at home or the income taxpayer or the gasoline taxpayer, we would be totally opposed to these increases.

- Do you think the combination of your opposition here, and we just heard from Senator Anderson who expressed his opposition, would that be enough to stop them, do you think?

- Well, we in the assembly, we Republicans in the assembly don't have the votes this year to adopt any program.

We think we can be a negative force, a constructive negative force, not one that opposes for opposition's sake, but one that orders priorities in the state so the state is on a sound fiscal base and from that standpoint, yes, I think that we can take a very positive position against the imposition of additional taxes in New York.

After all, the governor said during his campaign that he would recommend no new taxes this year and that was only about three months ago.

- [Pat] Thank you very much, Mr. Duryer.

- [Dave] For further reaction, Peg spoke with Kerry's running mate, Lieutenant Governor Mary Anne Krupsak.

Lieutenant Governor Krupsak, the Republicans have termed Governor Carey's speech regressive in the taxes that he has mentioned.

Do you feel that this is a switch in his earlier statements about taxes and do you feel that members of any income group might suffer as a result of his proposals?

- I think Governor Carey has indicated that the hardest-hit taxpayer, the middle income and the lower taxpayer, will not be burdened any longer.

He's not calling for a sales tax that's going to hurt the people in general way, the way we saw some taxes in the past.

No one likes to impose any additional burdens, but the governor has inherited a budget, has inherited problems, and also the state of our economy, which has been developing and unfolding in the most unfortunate way, bring hard realities to everyone.

And that is that we are going to find an enormous deficit.

And what has to happen now is, and this is perhaps something long overdue, I fought for this as a member of the legislature and now as a member of this team, I'm going to work side by side with the governor and the legislature in making everybody very clearly understand that we are so pressed for funds that we've got to get every dollar it was worth out of every dollar spent and more and then some.

Productivity is going to have to be something that every person takes into their heart and delivers in the service to the people.

The people's needs are going to be met, but we are going to have to have a tight budget, a stand pat kind of thing as far as increases are concerned in many, many ways.

And this is the necessity of the austere times that we're in.

- All right.

The governor did not spell out exactly the income levels that would be hit with new taxes and he did not spell out how the 10 cent increase in the gasoline tax would go back to the people.

Do you have any information in these areas?

- There will be a special message to the legislature and those are such serious and critical things and we want to have absolutely no misunderstanding about this, that there will be a special message on this, but it will be partly a designed system whereby there will be some kind of arrangement with the tax system so that when the people pay their taxes, they will be able to be credited.

And this is the fashion that is being presently formulated.

I'm certain that everyone will understand it and will support it.

If it means that someone, an affluent citizen is going to have to cut out one more trip or one more dinner out on the town so that a poor person can have meals for a month, I think those are the decisions and those are the choices and those are the priorities that the people of the state will support.

I don't find this regressive.

I find it hard-hitting, necessary, and what the people of the state of New York elected us to do.

- [Pat] On another area, there were press reports, press speculation that the election of Senator Ohrenstein as minority leader in the Senate was a slap at Governor Carey.

And there were indications that since you supported him that there was a split, behind-the-scenes split with you and Governor Carey and that you would not be part of his inner circle.

What's your reaction to those reports?

- I don't know where some of these speculations come from.

Governor Carey told me right from the start that he was not going to be involved in the matters of the legislative leadership.

Every time a senator or an assemblyman called him, he suggested that they speak with me because I would be the frontline in representing the administration with the legislature as is our constitutional separation.

I have a constitutional responsibility as president of the Senate.

Senator Ohrenstein and Governor Carey are on fine terms.

Senator Ohrenstein invited the governor and myself to attend a meeting up with the minority members yesterday and the governor accepted, was greeted warmly, and there was an extension of cooperation at every turn.

And as far as myself is concerned, I'm going to occupy space in addition to the office outside of the chamber closer to the governor because mine is going to be more than a full-time job.

The governor has called upon me at every turn to assist in the drafting of the state of the state message and I will have unfolding duties as time goes on, drawing on my 14 years of state government experience.

The facts will prove all of the speculation absolutely unfounded.

- [Pat] Thank you very much.

- Last week in a surprise move, the Senate Democrats elected as their minority leader Manfred Ohrenstein of New York.

Here is his reaction to Governor Carey's message.

Senator Ohrenstein, a general reaction to the speech.

- Well, the governor I think made a very tough speech on the question of the finances of the state.

He called upon economies both in the state government as well as in local government, and I think that's very much called for in terms of the economic crisis which we're living in.

Of course, he also made some very controversial proposals, such as raising income taxes in the higher brackets and cutting assistance to local government.

We in the legislature now are going to examine the budget of the governor when it's submitted on February 1st.

We will see whether it's possible to reallocate priorities, to cut some programs which are not necessary in order to void or at least minimize some of these drastic remedies that the governor saw fit to propose.

But on the whole, I found that it was a prudent and a very courageous speech for the governor to made on the question of finances.

- [Dave] On the question of taxes, which seems to be the most controversial item in the speech, not only on gasoline, but increasing taxes for taxpayers, do those proposals have any chance in this house?

- Well, I think that's gonna depend on our examination of the facts.

At this moment, these represent the governor's conclusions.

I think they must be respected because he is the one who has the responsibility of judging the fiscal facts involved in coming to this conclusion.

On the other hand, we have a similar responsibility to examine his recommendations and to examine the facts underlying those recommendations.

And that process will commence on February 1st when the budget is submitted and will take a full two months, until the end of March, when the budget is passed.

And during that time, we will make the determination in both houses as to whether the facts that the governor has reached these conclusions from are correct or whether they possibly can be adjusted in other ways or whether we have to go part or all of the route that the governor talks about.

I have to say that both with regard to income taxes, the citizens of this state are the highest-taxed citizens in the country and we are going to be awfully careful before we impose any further burdens on them.

And with respect to local government, again, all of the localities are in a state of crisis and we're going to be very careful to determine whether or not it is possible to make savings in other areas of the budget in order to avoid a severe impact on both of these areas.

- [Dave] What about your thoughts on the question of increasing the tax on gasoline 10 cents?

- Well, that proposal has floated around, but the governor did not make it in the address.

He did not formally make it in the address, though.

- [Dave] In the written text.

- But he did not refer to it in his oral text, so I'm not sure how serious that proposal is.

On the other hand, I think that proposal ought to be looked at seriously because it not only raises money, but it will involve us in saving energy.

However, a gasoline tax will fall disproportionately on moderate income tax payers.

And again, for that reason, we've got to be very careful before we go along with any of these recommendations.

- Thank you very much.

- Thank you.

- We now hear from the new Democratic assembly speaker Stanley Steingut of Brooklyn, who was asked to comment on Republican denunciations of the tax proposals.

- I'm not gonna comment on what the Republicans are saying.

I would prefer to see the details of the governor's program before I comment.

In that nature, the governor very forthrightly said that he will not impose taxes on the middle and low income taxpayer of this state who are overburdened now.

- Mr. Speaker, do you think that the people of the state are prepared to accept a tough document like this speech and support it?

- Well, I can only refer to what the mayor and the city of New York is doing and I think the people of the city of New York are supporting the mayor's actions.

I think there's a recognition that we are in real, serious economic times, both with the individual and with government, and drastic action must be taken.

- As a New York City man, can you support a cutting aid to localities such as being proposed?

- I didn't.

First of all, I'd like to see, as I said before, the implementation of all of these programs and we'll have further discussions and it's not gonna be done overnight.

But I will meet with the governor.

I will have our staffs work with his staffs and we'll come to a conclusion on that later.

- Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

- Excuse me.

- [Pat] It was just an hour before the governor's message that Mr. Steingut fulfilled a lifelong ambition to be elected Speaker of the Assembly.

- [Speaker] Stanley Steingut has received a majority of all of the votes cast.

I declare him duly elected Speaker of the Assembly for the years 1975 and 1976 and appoint Mr. De Salvio and Stevens a committee to escort the speaker elect to the chair.

Gentlemen.

(audience applauds) - [Pat] There had been some speculation that Mr. Steingut would not be elected speaker as his father Irwin was before him.

That's because of Mr. Steingut's involvement in a federal and state inquiry into New York City nursing homes owned by Dr. Bernard Bergman.

Two of the many Bergman homes are insured by a Steingut firm and there is a question whether Mr. Steingut intervened with the State Health Department on Mr. Bergman's behalf.

Last week, with this speculation flying around the capitol, Mr. Steingut cut his business ties, met with Governor Carey, and then answered press questions.

Mr. Steingut denied speaking to Health Department officials and I asked him if he had ever spoken to anyone on Mr. Bergman's behalf.

- I never talked to an agency and state government about Dr. Bergman.

I indicated when asked that in my opinion then, that he was a reputable religious leader and community leader.

At that time, that's all I knew.

- [Pat] Were you ever aware of the conditions in the homes that were apparently causing the holdups in approval?

- I wasn't.

I read about some of them and as a matter of fact, we attempted to develop a home care program in the state which would've kept many of our senior citizens out of nursing homes.

And it's a program that I'm very much interested in and will push for this year as well as ferreting out all the problems that exist.

- That final segment was an interview with Stanley Steingut before he became assembly speaker.

We'll be following Mr. Steingut in his new role in the coming weeks.

We'll also be introducing you to the commissioners of various departments.

- Just a few blocks up Washington Avenue from the State Capitol is the building housing the office of the Secretary of State, Mario Cuomo.

Mr. Cuomo was one of Governor Carey's first appointments in the new administration.

The secretary opposed Mary Anne Krupsak and assemblyman Antonio Olivieri in the race for Lieutenant Governor.

He lost and he's come to Albany as Secretary of State.

Secretary, a man is said to mold a job to fit himself.

And since your job description as outlined in the state constitution is one of your duties as custodian of the Great Seal and other ceremonial duties, how do you see the job?

Will it just be conducting the duties as outlined in the Constitution or is it gonna be more than that for you?

- It's going to be the duties outlined, not in the Constitution, but in the executive law and the statutes and a good deal more.

Incidentally, even as it's now constructed, the Office of the Department of State goes way beyond the custodianship of the Grand Seal.

It has various licensing functions.

It is the repository of the laws of the state.

It has an extremely important function in connection with corporate structures throughout the state.

It's a very large department in numbers of personnel, has offices all over the state, and it has performed extremely well in the past.

The governor has said not that that ought to be altered by reduction, but it ought to be altered by accretion.

He would like me at least as Secretary of State in addition to running the department to serve in various other functions.

One would be as a special representative in the area of judicial reform 'cause I am after all and have been for a long time an attorney and a professor of law.

He'd like me to work especially in the area of disclosure.

That is the new obligations for public officials, elected and appointed, to disclose their personal financial and professional arrangements and connections.

He has said publicly he would like the mechanism for that disclosure eventually to rest with the Secretary of State in the Department of State.

He's asked me to serve as a special representative to the city of New York's Charter Revision Commission.

That would be a very big issue in the city of New York in the months to come.

And in addition here recently, he asked me to inquire into the nursing home situation, which is a dramatic problem at the moment.

So I see my role as a kind of Secretary of State in the traditional sense to run this department that has by reputation been one of the excellent departments in the state.

And from what I've seen of it, that reputation was deserved.

He wants me to do that and serve as a troubleshooter, a kind of executive ombudsman, if you can conceive of such a thing.

The ombudsman, normally the traditional concept is he ought to be independent of government and I think that's a good idea too.

But for the time being, he's asked me to serve as a kind of executive ombudsman for him.

- [Dave] You've been a long time friend of Governor Carey and I wonder about the inner circle of power who share power in the governor's chamber.

You're included in it.

Will the governor be spreading power out within the agencies or will he keep it in the executive chamber?

- I've known the governor for many years.

As a matter of fact, we were at law school together for a while.

He started a little bit late in his life going to law school.

I've not known him socially all that closely.

The governor does not look to friends for opinions and advice as much as he looks to people with good ideas.

The fact that I've known him for 20 years does not assure me the governor's ear.

The power will rest with those people who are able to make a convincing case to the governor.

He is a singularly reasonable person.

He's a person of high intelligence who recognizes a good idea when he hears one.

So he's not the kind of person who will run government by crony.

He's not gonna be surrounded by a lot of old friends whose advice he will take indiscriminately.

He will take the advice of a stranger if the advice makes sense.

So I don't think it's accurate to say that those of us who have known him for a long time are gonna be in a special position to have his ear.

It's not gonna work that way.

The people who will have his ear are the people who repetitively come up with good ideas.

He is not gonna have a small coterie of power brokers or pressure idea people around him.

He'll be traveling around the state.

He has great reach.

He has great expanse.

He moves into the academic circles very easily.

He is, of course, an attorney himself and where there are lawyers who can be helpful to him, he can use them.

He knows the ethnic community.

He knows all of the whole panoply of people and segments of the state and he'll draw from all of them for ideas and for people.

- Mario Cuomo will be a busy man in the Carey administration.

His duties have already included being the governor's prime investigator in the nursing home scandals.

Next week, we'll talk to him about that.

Now, to continue with another of the governor's appointees, here's Peg in an interview taped earlier this week.

- The state government extends beyond the Capitol and "Inside Albany" will take you out to the agencies to meet the different commissioners.

We begin here at the Department of Transportation with Commissioner Raymond Schuler.

Mr. Schuler is a career civil servant who was appointed in September of 1972 by then-governor Nelson Rockefeller.

Governor Carey has asked him to stay on in this position.

I realize we're gonna be waiting for the year to unfold to see some of the specifics, but what areas, say, do the transition team get into, or could you tell us a bit about what we could look forward to?

- Sure.

There was a great concern over the, you know, where we are kind of a thing first, sort of like an inventory taking, you know, what have we done or accomplished to date with programs?

Where are we at this time?

Where have we been?

And of course where are we going?

How do we get on with accomplishing the goals that had been set out in transportation?

And I think it's what you'll see evolving is a continuing concern for transportation as it fits into the energy concerns, environmental concerns, and economy development in our state so that it's that kind of an examination.

- [Pat] When you think of Governor Rockefeller as the road builder, Malcolm Wilson took a large part of the credit for the Rail Preservation Bond Act.

Does Hugh Carey have an area?

- Yes.

I think...

I'd like to think that it represents total transportation and I'm sure it does.

You know, and the governor and I, when we exchanged our letters of appointment and so on, I think made a very clear commitment to the public of his concern for total transportation in the state and equity to all regions.

And that's been one of my personal goals as commissioner is treating each region with equity and meeting its needs.

And I think that's the kind of a commitment we have in Governor Carey.

- [Pat] And I think when people think of transportation problems, New York City subways come to mind almost immediately.

And Mayor Beame has said that there's a financial gap in the money he has to maintain the subways and build new ones and he's counting on state and federal funding.

I'm wondering what you see now as an answer to operating and construction for subways.

And some people see the need for a mass transit bond issue as such that could be used for this.

What are your views in this area?

- Well, very clearly, we need today a very complete and total reexamination of all of our capital programs and transportation, especially with the limited transit dollars that are available and looking at the very ambitious transit programs that we have in our state, not just the subway system improvements in New York City, but the rail system we would like to implement in Buffalo and Rochester, the improvement of public transportation throughout the state so that we need right now a reevaluation of where we are in our capital programs, considering the new costs that we're facing because of inflation and the limited number of federal dollars available to us to be matched by state funds so that this examination will be started.

We've already started through regional authorities and our regional planning activities and so on.

And that's what I think we have to do is look at the investment we've made to date.

What is it we desire to have in our systems and then how much money will it take from where to complete them?

Directly, I'm avoiding the bond issue question.

Having just finished the work on the Rail Preservation Bond Act and having spent many, many weeks touring the state on behalf of that, I'm not gonna say yes yet about another bond issue, but bond issues are always an option to be examined.

Whether this is the ideal time or not to do it, I'm not too sure and would not be until we can really finish a good reevaluation of where we are in our programs.

- [Peg] What does inflation do to the total number of projects you had planned under the $250 million?

Are you gonna have to eliminate some just right off the bat?

- No, Peg.

Fortunately, at least at this point, because let's say this is year one, we had pre-programmed into the plan an inflationary factor- - Even this high?

- For cost.

Yes.

So that at this point, we're still, let's say on target.

Now, if inflation to continue to increase at a higher level, then we'd have some trouble.

But at least at this time, the program has built into it the inflationary trend that we've had in this end of the business and in all business, as matter of fact.

- Again, that was Transportation Commissioner Raymond Schuler.

Governor Carey is expected to spell out his transportation proposals in the coming weeks and the question of further operating assistance for New York City subways is bound to be a major issue.

"Inside Albany" will keep you up to date.

Now here's Dave in the new legislative office building.

- There are 44 new faces in the state legislature this session, 36 in the assembly, 8 in the Senate.

We will be introducing them to you throughout the session.

John Zagame is one of the new Republican assemblymen.

Besides being a new face, he's also the youngest one at 23 years old.

He's just married, the winner of seven-way primary in a three-way general election.

He's representing Oswego County and parts of Oneida County.

I'd like to ask you about some of the problems you've had of moving in.

Are you overwhelmed by the experience?

- I'm not overwhelmed.

I am busy, very busy, as you can see by the manner in which my desk is sort of scattered about here.

I tried to get down here to Albany before the session started several times so that I could accustom myself to the atmosphere here and done a pretty good job of that, I think.

- [Dave] The problems of moving in, what are you finding that you have to get quickly acclimated to?

- Well, of course there's the basic things, you know, the paperclips and the stationary and so forth, which we are pretty good shape on.

We've done that and now just preparing for the session and getting ready for, which, of course, I feel is the most important aspect of the beginning of the session, the adoption of rules of order.

And just on Sunday, I read in the New York News magazine section a very interesting article on the need for reforms and the rules and procedure in the New York State legislature.

And in light of the fact that New York State is one of only three states in the country which does not have sunshine laws, if you will, or open meetings legislation, I think that we ought to see some movement in that direction at the beginning of this session, or at least some discussion of the merits.

- How do you describe yourself politically?

Are you conservative?

A liberal?

- Myself as being on the more conservative side.

I think that that term is very often misunderstood.

I think that one can be conservative and yet be constructive.

I think that too often in political science classes, conservatism is equated with obstructionism.

And I think we can have good positive conservatism in this state and in the Republican party.

As an example, I would cite these reforms that I spoke of earlier.

In the process, the rules of procedure in the assembly, opening up the committees, opening up the debate on the floor and recorded votes and so forth, the end to empty chair voting, some of the abuses that have occurred in the system, these are the sorts of things that I'm committed to and I think that, I feel that I'm a constructive conservative.

I would echo the words of the great British historian Thomas Babington Macaulay, who made a great speech on the floor of the House of Commons in 1831 when the British Parliament was considering whether or not to adopt the reform bill of ultimately 1832, which enfranchised a great number of Englishmen and the speech he made on the floor of the House of Commons ended in this way.

He said, "Let us reform our institutions in order to preserve them."

And I think that that's really the essence of a constructive conservative, that ultimately what I'd like to see is for our institutions to be strengthened and to continue, but this can only be done if we're willing to accommodate the forces of change and it has to be done.

- You've just met John Zagame, the youngest person in the legislature this session at 23 years old.

He is representing parts of Oneida in the county of Oswego.

Now with another new face, here's Peg Breen.

- For another newcomer's view, we spoke with Democratic freshman Senator John D. Perry, Monroe County.

Senator Perry is a high school economics teacher and he served for three years as democratic minority leader of the Monroe County Legislature.

Senator Perry defeated incumbent Gordon DeHaan and three other candidates to win his seat.

Senator, what were the issues in your campaign?

Why do you think people sent you to Albany?

- Well, there were really two major issues.

One was the whole process of government, of legislative reform.

I made that a big issue, that the process of legislature must open up, become more democratic.

And I also talked about the idea of being a full-time legislator and I pledge that I personally would be a full-time legislator.

The other deals with the problems of state aid to localities and education and the inequities between the funding mechanisms for city schools and suburban schools, and related to that, a corollary of that is the whole tax structure, the basing of local revenues on property taxes.

And I hope to see the state legislature develop legislation that would permit counties to develop model programs for income tax and tax reform.

- There's a conventional political wisdom that freshmen really can't get things done.

What do you feel you really will be able to do here?

- Experience of being a county legislator has been that freshmen can do significant things.

In my experience, in my first week as a senator in helping an upstate group vote for the minority leaders, switching our votes on the second ballot, selecting Senator Ohrenstein indicates to me that it is possible to do something.

I hope to be rather significant.

- [Pat] Was the vote for Senator Ohrenstein in any way a slap at Governor Carey from what you could see?

- No, I can't conceive of that.

It was a positive type of thing from my point of view.

Senator Ohrenstein campaigned on the issues that there should be legislative reform, that the legislature should be open, that every senator should be treated equally, that the budget, the legislative budget should be made public.

And those are the types of things I campaigned on.

I had a legitimate reason to vote for him.

He and I stand the same on those issues.

- [Pat] And why not Senator Blum?

- Senator Blum did not make any effort to contact me to express his views on these very issues, where Ohrenstein did, and also Senator Griffin.

I voted for Griffin on the first ballot.

- Senator, this is a long way from home from Monroe County.

Do you feel there'll be any disruption in your family life?

- Well, it's an upsetting sort of thing.

I have children 14 down to 9.

I hope that they can adjust to it, especially if the legislature session goes more than the five or six months in the past.

It will be difficult.

- [Pat] And finally, finally, what committee assignments are you hoping for?

- My prime concern is education.

I'm seeking a seat on the education committee.

- Thank you very much, Senator.

From time to time on "Inside Albany," we want to show you the physical setting in which state government takes place.

We begin today with the tour of the Capitol.

Some 60,000 persons tour the Capitol each year, led by student guides under the direction of the Office of General Services.

And our guide today is the director of the tour staff, Mrs. Cherry Sumner.

Some Republican officials have been known to gaze from office windows in the Capitol, point to the still unfinished Empire State Plaza, and note wistfully that the Capitol still holds the record for construction time on a state building.

According to some calculations, the massive granite Capitol also still holds the record for cost overruns.

Construction on the present Capitol began in December 1867 on a windy hill overlooking the Hudson River.

It took more than 30 years and $25 million to complete it.

The final tab, a whopping amount for the day, went some 700% over the original cost estimates, according to some press calculations.

Some critics have suggested it set the tone for future state spending.

The five-story structure also was criticized at the time for its size.

Today, though, state offices have spilled over into numerous office buildings in Albany and the Empire State Plaza already is tight on space.

Four separate architects, Thomas Fuller, Henry Richardson, Leopold Eidlitz, and Isaac Perry, worked on the Capitol.

The result is described as a blend of Italian and French Renaissance, Romanesque, Gothic, and something known as the transitional style.

Official guidebooks sum up the architecture as grandiose and term it one of the more unusual public buildings in the nation.

When the cornerstone for the building was laid, Senator Hamilton Harris of Albany said the building would be worthy of high debates and lofty degrees.

During legislative sessions, Capitol tourists get a chance to judge the quality of debates for themselves as they view the Senate in assembly chambers.

- This is the assembly chamber.

Mr. Eidlitz designed it and he had planned to have, in fact, had constructed a ceiling that went some 20 to 30 feet higher than the present one.

After the chamber had been occupied for about 10 years, the ceiling began to crack and the stone came down on the assemblyman's desk.

It was necessary to remove all of the stone and along with it, the two-ton keystone that had supported the groin ceiling.

Now all we have left are these four large granite pillars to remind us of the grand ceiling that Eidlitz had planned for the assembly chamber.

The speaker sits in the center of the dais.

On one side of him is a personal aid.

On the other is a member of the clergy.

And this rotates between the three major faiths in our state.

The clerical section is just below the speaker's portion of the dais, and these people are responsible for the mechanics of the assembly.

- [Pat] At the entrance to the third-floor assembly chamber, a special rug depicts the state seal.

The tour guide explains the symbolism in the seal, but does not mention the partisan battle over installation of the carpet that occurred in 1964.

In that year, Democratic Assembly Speaker Anthony Travia ordered the rug from a New York State manufacturer, but the manufacturer in turn had it made in a Hong Kong factory.

This infuriated Republicans, who claim the faces in the carpet have slanted eyes, and they dubbed the carpet "Travia's Taiwan tapestry."

The Senate Chamber sits at the other end of the third floor, and that has been described as one of the nation's most beautiful governmental rooms.

- [Cherry] This is the Senate chamber and Richardson designed the room.

You'll notice the stained glass windows above the dais.

Coming down that wall, the Mexican onyx is in large squares and it's banded with Sienna marble imported from Italy.

Across the way, the galleries where visitors come on session days.

You'll notice above that the material that's used is black, red, and gold and helps the acoustics here in this room as well as being very decorative.

The arches, again, are of the Sienna marble.

And in front of the galleries, you'll find spindles on the balconies.

This also is Sienna marble.

The pillars supporting these arches are of granite, Jefferson County granite.

Below the galleries, the wainscotting is of hand-carved mahogany and hand-tooled Spanish leather.

Richardson not only designed the room, but also the furnishings in this chamber.

And the desks, even though they're a little topsy-turvy getting ready for the start of the new session, are of hand-carved mahogany.

Now, Richardson had only a few senatorial districts that he had to be concerned about furnishing a desk for.

So some of these are originals and some of them are copies of the originals.

Richardson's clock over in the corner is the official timepiece of the Senate.

It's a case clock of hand-carved mahogany and it tells senators exactly what's going on as far as time is concerned.

And it might be stopped at the end of the session at two o'clock on a particular day, even though the session might continue on for another two or three days.

But according to the calendar, when this clock stops, that's the end of the session.

- [Pat] The tour also explains that the plush Senate lobby is used as a resting spot by the senators.

There seem to be more lobbyists than lawmakers sitting here during the session, however.

The executive offices are in the south wing of the second floor, aptly named the Hall of Governors.

Portraits of the state's chief executives line the hall and those of Nelson Rockefeller and Malcolm Wilson have yet to be included.

Hugh Carey will be the 26th governor to occupy these chambers.

The guided tour includes the red room, once the official office of the governor, now used for gubernatorial press conferences and ceremonial occasions.

Intricate arches and stone carvings abound in the Capitol's high ceilings and corridors.

Many of them, though, are half-hidden in the semi-darkness.

The most famous stonework is found in the Western or Million Dollar Staircase designed by Henry Richardson.

Leopold Eidlitz's Senate staircase also sports fascinating carvings.

The panels along the staircase depict the different stages of Darwin's theory of evolution, from a single cell plant up to an elephant.

Tour guides explained that Eidlitz was afraid to include a carving of man because Darwin's theory was so controversial at the time.

Capitol legend also says that the carved heads on the arches above the Senate staircase portray Robin Hood and his merry men.

The artist's intent in portraying them is left to the individual imagination.

There are no official tours yet of the 96-acre Empire State Plaza, but in coming weeks, "Inside Albany" will give you an unofficial tour of the plaza and of other key sites in the Capitol city.

- Up to this point in tonight's program, we have shown you the events of this week.

Now we'll drop back three weeks to the day of outgoing Governor Malcolm Wilson's final press conference.

Peg had the opportunity of talking with former governor just before he left his office.

- Governor, you've been such an influential part of the Albany scene for the past 36 years and now you're leaving it.

What are your thoughts as you leave government at the moment?

- Well, basically, it's mixed emotions.

I'm just so immensely gratified that I have been privileged to serve in state government as an elected official for 36 years, which is longer than anybody else in the history of the state.

I'm very grateful to the people who have provided that opportunity for me.

First, the voters in my assembly district down in Westchester County, and then the statewide voters during the years I was Lieutenant Governor and my one year as governor.

And so I'm very gratified.

I would have to say that I am very sad about the fact that come January, it'll be the first January in 36 years, other than two years early in my legislative career when I was in the Navy on active duty in World War II, it'll be the first January and February and March that I will not be in Albany actively engaged in the business of state government.

I am sorry that I will be leaving the community of Albany and its environments and the very many wonderful men and women who live in this city who aren't in government at all.

But they're very hospitable people and I've greatly enjoyed my association with them down through the years, notably since I've been Lieutenant Governor, when I spent virtually much more time here than in the assembly by virtue of the nature of the work and obviously as governor.

So as I say, I have mixed emotions.

- Governor, one of your most quoted phrases with the different hallmarks that you set for your administration, the compassion for people, government, economy, and efficiency, what shaped your political philosophy?

Were there forces before you came to Albany, personalities you met here?

- Well, that opens up a wide range of possibilities.

And that's all I can say is, as Popeye said, I am what I am.

That's what I am.

I think that if we don't grow every day, it's not good.

And there are different influences to which we are subjective and these have impact on us, even though we don't discern the particular impact.

Throughout my whole career in state government, I have been identified with the efficient utilization of the taxpayer's money, the economy and efficiency.

That was so during the years that I was in the assembly and also being very sensitive to the burden of taxes imposed on the people.

And this was so during all my career, even in the years in the assembly, when those of us who came from Westchester, the Republicans from Westchester and the Republicans from Erie County, headed by Walter Mahoney at that time, successfully resisted efforts of Governor Dewey, a Republican governor, to raise taxes, the particular taxes which he advanced at that time.

So that has been a constant also.

Really what I said would be the hallmark of my administration when I was privileged to assume the responsibilities of the governorship about a year ago, that the hallmark would be compassion for people within a framework of governmental efficiency and economy and deep sensitivity to the burden of taxes imposed on the people by every level of government.

That was not a new thing for me.

Those have been collectively the load star, which has guided all of my actions in all 36 years, whatever my capacity in government.

- Former governor Malcolm Wilson, who tonight we are told is relaxing in his home in Yonkers.

Well, that in 57 minutes was the new administration's first week in Albany.

There have been predictions of a long session, six months at minimum from some sources.

So I think that the legislature and this program are in for a long run.

- Next week we'll bring your reports on legislative reform, the ongoing nursing home investigation, and state aid to localities.

- In addition, more new faces in the Carey cabinet and in the legislature.

- We hope you'll join us.

And until next week, I'm Peg Breen.

- And I'm Dave Hepp.

Goodnight from "Inside Albany."

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