North Country Leader

Assemblyman Scott Gray (R-Watertown) released the latest episode of his video series, “The Gray Area,” highlighting a "busy week" in Albany and discussing several legislative activities. Gray focused on two bills that were passed and their impacts on the North Country, as well as two pending bills and their potential effects.

Gray first addressed bill A.9102, known as the “Medicaid enhancement.” He explained, “It provides our emergency medical services (EMS) community with reimbursements for both vital services like treatment-in-place (TIP) and transport to destinations other than the emergency room (ER), like diagnostic or different treatment centers, such as behavioral health. On one hand, it’s a Medicaid enhancement. On the other, it’s cost containment in terms of reducing ER visits. I’m optimistic it will improve our emergency services out in the field as well as ER situations in many hospitals.”

He also discussed bill A.6136, which allows toll-free operation on state thruways for fire or emergency vehicles. According to Gray, this would reduce costs for the EMS community when operating on a thruway.

Turning to pending legislation, Gray mentioned bill A.6353, known as the Better Bottle Bill. He noted significant opposition from distributors and retailers across New York State but emphasized his environmental concerns given the natural beauty of the North Country. “There is a balance to be maintained with every one of these legislations,” he said.

Gray also brought up bill A.5322, referred to as the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act. He provided an example involving individually wrapped cheese slices seen in grocery stores and pointed out that this bill could lead to increased consumer costs. “It really is a matter of balance between the environment, cost to consumers and timing,” he remarked.

Concluding his update, Gray encouraged viewers to stay tuned for future episodes: “Look out for next week’s episode of The Gray Area as we continue to update you on what you care about." He invited constituents to contact his office with any questions or concerns.

Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/xMtSXHDI5Wk?si=WCfxU-k-GldD1Qb8