George D. Maziarz

George D. Maziarz (born May 25, 1953) is a Republican politician from New York State. He formerly represented the 62nd District in the New York State Senate, which includes all of Niagara County, all of Orleans County, and the towns of Sweden and Ogden in Monroe County.

Biography

Maziarz is a native of North Tonawanda, New York, where he was educated in local schools, first at Ascension Academy and then at North Tonawanda High School, graduating in 1972. Four years later, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Niagara University.^[1]

He was appointed City Clerk in his hometown of North Tonawanda in 1978 at the young age of 25 and he became Niagara County, New York Clerk in 1989.^[1] Six years later, Senator John Daly resigned his seat to become Commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation, and Maziarz entered the Senate after winning a special election.^[1]

He has served as President of the Chamber of Commerce of the Tonawandas,^[1] member of the Board of Directors of the United Way of the Tonawandas,^[1] member of the Corporate Advisory Board of DeGraff Memorial Hospital^[1] and Chairman of the popular Canal Festival of the Tonawandas.^[2] He is also a past officer and long-time member of Live Hose Co. #4, member of the Niagara County Volunteer Firemen’s Association, Knights of Columbus Council 2535, S.C.O.P.E. and the Niagara University Booster Club.^[1]

As of 2011, Maziarz resides in Newfane, New York with his wife, Beverly.

During the 2012 presidential election, Republican Mitt Romney chose George Maziarz as a Polish-American representative to support his campaign.^[3]

In the New York State Senate

Senator Maziarz at the groundbreaking ceremony for Yahoo!, which he helped bring to Lockport, NY

Senator Maziarz has held several leadership positions in the New York State Senate. In January 1997, Maziarz was named Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, a post which he held through the 2001-2002 session.^[1] Legislation from this committee included:

• Enactment of a major expansion to the state’s Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage Program (EPIC) which increased income eligibility, reduced annual fees and lowered co-payments for prescription drugs for New York’s seniors.^[4]
• Passage and enactment of the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Protection Act which protects New Yorkers, particularly seniors, from the deceptive telemarketing acts and practices.^[5]

In 2003-2004, Maziarz served as Chairman of the Committee on Tourism, Recreation, and Sports Development.^[1] He previously served as Chairman of the Senate Labor Committee.^[1] He currently serves as Chairman of the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee.^[6] He also serves as a member of the Rules; Higher Education; Crime, Crime Victime, and Corrections; Environmental Conservation; and Transportation Committees. He voted against same-sex marriage legislation on December 2, 2009; the bill was defeated.^[7] In 2011, Maziarz voted against a similar bill, the Marriage Equality Act, which the Senate passed 33-29. roll call

On July 13, 2014, numerous reports indicated that Maziarz would not seek re-election.

Legislative Accomplishments

Since being elected to the State Senate, Maziarz has a legislative record in a variety of policy areas. These laws include:

• Sponsored Megan’s Law, which created New York's sex offender registry and tracking system. He sponsored and supported numerous other laws that have worked to strengthen penalties against sex offenders, including bill #S00011B,^[8]
• Sponsored the Assisted Living Reform Act. The law included proper consumer protections, including a resident’s bill of rights, and provided for criminal penalties for those operating unlicensed “look alike” facilities. Bill Number S7748 ^[9]
• Sponsored legislation allowing New York to join the Great Lakes-St Lawrence River Basin Compact. The Great lakes contain 95% of all of the freshwater in North America, and this legislation created stronger rules and regulations for any water withdrawal from the Great Lakes. Bill Number S4324-B ^[10]
• In 2008 and 2010 sponsoring and co-sponsoring the net-metering bills, which allows a utility customer who generates their own electricity to receive a credit to their bill for the energy produced. The laws that were adopted in 2008 and 2010 expanded this practice to allow schools, municipalities, businesses and large farms to take full advantage of this practice as well. These laws have led to the increased development of more wind, solar, biomass and biodiesel power generation throughout New York State. Bill Numbers S7171-B; S8481; S6700 ^[11][12][13]
• Sponsored a bill to help the unemployed who is on unemployment to withhold part of their benefit from each check. Bill Number S7737
• Senator Maziarz co-sponsored the green residential building code program which allowed incentive payments to contractors who adopted energy efficient building methods and materials. He was also a sponsor and strong supporter of New York’s Green Jobs/Green New York law that offers financing and incentives to residents to make their homes more energy efficient. Bill Number S5888 ^[14]
• Sponsored the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, which for the first time offered New York residents clear protections from the deceptive and unfair practices used by some telemarketers. The law includes requirements that all telemarketers be bonded and registered with the Department of State. It also prohibits any access to a customer’s financial accounts without written authorization as well as other important protections. Bill Number S8116
• Co-Sponsored legislation for volunteer firefighters that extend the same benefits for lung ailments to volunteers as are available to professional firefighters. Bill Number S3701 ^[15]
• Sponsored laws to help those that volunteered to help with the relief effort after 9/11. Another significant law allows school district employees to be authorized to take paid leave to assist in disaster relief operations, and another that allows for volunteers injured or disabled as a result of participating in the rescue efforts at the World Trade Center to apply for workers compensation benefits.
• New York State’s labor laws and protections. These have included laws to hold companies accountable for violating the state’s asbestos laws and regulations, as well as a law that required the Department of Labor to issue regulations to protect child performers from abusive practices.
• Creating many local laws to promote and develop assets in the Niagara area including the Erie Canal, Niagara Wine Trail and Old Fort Niagara.

References

1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Senator George D. Maziarz's biography
2. ↑ , Canal Fest of the Tonawandas.
3. ↑ George Maziarz Talks Polish-American Politics | Politicker
4. ↑ , EPIC PROGRAM.
5. ↑ , Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Protection Act.
6. ↑ , New York State Energy and Telecommunications Page.
7. ↑ Vote against gay marriage Archived February 11, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.
8. ↑ Megan's Law.
9. ↑ , Assisted Living Reform Act.
10. ↑ , Great Lakes Compact.
11. ↑ , Net Metering.
12. ↑ , Net Metering2.
13. ↑ , Net Metering3.
14. ↑ , Green Jobs.
15. ↑ , Volunteer Firefighter.

External links

• New York State Senate: George D. Maziarz
• Maziarz's Facebook Page
• Maziarz's Twitter Profile
• Maziarz's channel on YouTube