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                 Assemblyman Greg Ball Announces
          Landmark Program to Provide NYS Veterans
          with Free SUNY/CUNY College Tuition

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  April 11, 2008

           Assemblyman Greg Ball(R-Carmel) held 2 press conferences
    today in the 99th Assembly District to announce that his landmark
    program to create a tuition remission program for veterans has been
    included in the 2008-09 State Budget.  The budget was passed by both
    houses earlier this week.
            The 2008-09 State Budget includes $2 million in state funding to
    create Ball's tuition remission program for combat veterans.  New
    York State veterans who served in the hostilities of Vietnam,
    Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf will be eligible for tuition
    assistance benefits equal to the cost of SUNY undergraduate tuition,
    or the equivalent at any other New York State higher education
    institution.            




                 Westchester County Board Approves
       Property Tax Break for Veterans of the Cold War

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 22, 2008

    County Board Chair Bill Ryan (D-IN-WF, White Plains) and
    Legislators Vito Pinto (D-IN-WF, Tuckahoe) and Jim Maisano (R-C,
    New Rochelle) had legislation approved this week that will deliver a
    property tax break for Cold War veterans.

    To qualify, a veteran must have served on active duty in the United
    States Armed Forces for over 365 days during the Cold War period,
    specifically between September 2, 1945  and December 26, 1991.

    “Now, Cold War Veterans, the spouse of a Cold War Veteran or the
    un-remarried surviving spouse of a deceased Cold War Veteran
    would be eligible for a partial tax exemption on the assessed value of
    their residential property,” Ryan continued.  “I’m pleased that my
    legislative colleagues realized the importance of this legislation and
    passed it overwhelmingly.”

    Maisano, a Cold War vet himself, said that the previous state law
    extended benefits to some Cold War veterans, but not to others.  
    "Once I raised this issue with our state delegation, they began
    working hard to correct the inequity. I congratulate my colleagues for
    addressing this issue and taking action to 'right a wrong' that was
    long overdue."

    Pinto, the Board’s veterans liaison, said, “As a Vietnam veteran
    myself, I am honored to co-sponsor this legislation. We were up
    against a state-imposed February 1 deadline so I urged my colleagues
    to move as quickly as possible to meet it. By passing it this week, we
    ensured that eligible veterans would be able to file an application
    with their local assessor's office in time for the 2009 tax rolls."

    The County Board's action follows the recent enactment by the state
    of an amendment to the state real property law (Section 458-b) that
    authorizes "counties, cities, towns and villages to enact Local Laws
    exempting from taxation a portion of the assessed value of the
    residential real property of a Cold War veteran, the spouse of a Cold
    War veteran or the un-remarried surviving spouse of a deceased Cold
    War veteran."

    The extent of the tax break is based upon a formula developed by the
    state that is based on the assessed value of residential property. The
    exemption itself would last for ten years.

    Ryan, Pinto and Maisano said they would work to explore additional
    ways to further expand Cold War veterans' benefits.  

    For more information on the property tax exemption application, a
    veteran should contact the local tax assessor's office.