As Governor of New York, Pataki was known as a moderate to liberal Republican who cut taxes and was tough on crime, but who also supported gun control, environmental protection, gay rights, and abortion rights.
Fiscal policy Taxes, spending, budget power, and economic growth Under the Pataki Administration, New York's credit rating was increased three times by
Moody's Investors Service, a fact that he highlighted often before his critics. During his three terms in office, he introduced and approved more tax cuts than any of his predecessors. Following through on a campaign promise, Pataki led a push to cut both the individual and the corporate tax rates in New York. The state's infamously high income tax rates dropped by 20% on average, but an economic downturn following the attacks of September 11 and increasing state spending caused
Sheldon Silver and
Joseph Bruno to coordinate an effort to roll back a number of these cuts in 2003 over Pataki's veto power. The STAR and STAR-Plus programs were also introduced during Pataki's governorship. The STAR program introduced tax relief for New York's homeowners and landowners on their school taxes. The STAR-Plus program was later introduced when relief was diminished by increasing school taxes, increasing spending and State Aid. In his third term Pataki challenged the Speaker of the Assembly, resulting in two Court of Appeals decisions sustaining the powers of the governor to formulate a statewide budget.
Casinos Pataki advocated for Native American casinos in upstate New York. In 1999, he called upon the Republican Party to soften its platform language regarding opposition to abortion rights. He opposed
same-sex marriage as governor.
Crime Polls showed that the majority of New Yorkers wanted the state's death penalty laws restored. Prior to Pataki's tenure, a bill to restore the death penalty had passed the Legislature for several years in a row only to be vetoed by
Mario Cuomo. Pataki made the issue a top priority of his, and when the bill reached his desk in 1995, he signed it into law. The
New York Court of Appeals later ruled the death penalty law unconstitutional in a 4–3 decision in
People v. LaValle (2004). Being tough on crime was a major plank of Pataki's campaign for governor. In 2011, the administration touted statistics that illustrated that crime had steadily reduced during the 12 years Pataki had been governor, bringing New York from the 6th most dangerous state in the nation to the 7th safest. During his time in office, he signed into law over 100 new bills to change New York's criminal statutes. In 2000, Pataki helped lead the legislature in passing some of the then-strictest
gun control laws in the country. Numerous aspects of the bill had been put forward by members of the Democratic-controlled Assembly but had never made it through the Republican held Senate. With numerous mass shootings in recent public memory, he urged a number of Republican Senators to support the bill, eventually passing it in a bipartisan effort. His administration also launched programs such as SAF-T (Statewide Anti-Fugitive Teams) and the 100 Most Wanted. The initiatives were aimed at disseminating descriptions of criminals who were evading law enforcement officials to promote the ability of average citizens to help aid in their capture. Versions of
Megan's Law and
Kendra's Law were integrated into New York's laws under the governor as well as a number of reforms to the
Rockefeller Drug Laws. The changes to the Rockefeller laws were largely focused on inmates' ability to appeal for an early release from sentences that were passed on them under mandatory minimum sentencing statutes.
Health care Under the Pataki Administration a number of new health care programs were created focusing on expanding care to the state's poorest citizens. In 1999, Governor Pataki signed into law comprehensive health care legislation that provided health insurance coverage, under Family Health Plus, to lower income adults who do not have health insurance through their employers. Child Health plus greatly expanded coverage for poorer families with children under 19 who did not qualify for
Medicaid. By 2001, 530,000 children had been enrolled in the program. Family Health Plus would expand insurance coverage even further, offering free insurance to families and single adults who had too much income to be covered by Medicaid but could not afford insurance. New York's 2003 ban on smoking in public places was passed and signed into law under the Pataki administration in the hopes that it would promote better health in New York and reduce health care cost over time. Assessing his twelve years in office,
The New York Times ran an editorial praising his work on health care. In 1996, Pataki oversaw the creation and passage of the Clean Water/Clean Air Environmental Bond Act. The act put forth $1.75 billion for over 2,200 environmentally minded projects throughout the state. Projects were focused on improving drinking water quality, closing landfills, investing in recycling programs, cleaning up New York's polluted waterways, funding cleanup of
Brownfields and clean-air projects. During his tenure, Pataki added over one million acres to the entirety of the protected open spaces of New York. He also worked to protect the drinking water of millions of New Yorkers through the Catskill Watershed Agreement. Through the agreement, the numerous small communities that surround the 19 reservoirs that provide drinking water for New York City received $1 billion in aid to assuage environmental issues and promote local development in return for accepting higher standards of environmental regulations to better protect the reservoirs. On Pataki's final day in office,
The New York Times ran an editorial evaluating his twelve years as governor and praised his work on the environment.
Education Pataki heeded mounting desire to allow New York to join numerous other states in the growing movement for charter schools. In 1998, Pataki prevailed upon the Legislature to pass a charter school law by threatening to veto a legislative pay raise if the bill was not passed. Over the course of his terms in office, Pataki would expand the availability of charter schools in New York City and raise the state's cap on charter schools to 250. In coordination with Mayor
Rudy Giuliani, Pataki pushed to begin disassembling the reputation of
City University of New York system as a group of remedial schools. Starting in 1999, CUNY colleges would be required to drop their remedial courses over a 3-year period and restrict students who could not pass entry exams in an effort to deliver a higher quality college education through the city colleges. Pataki also put forth legislation that would lend mayors in New York's five largest cities greater control over their education systems. Through negotiations this authority was only awarded to the mayor of New York City as an attempt to overcome a system of school boards that many considered to be hampering efforts at reform.
Political reform Looking over his tenure,
The New York Times ran an editorial that criticized Pataki for the lack of tangible political reform and the consolidation of power under his watch. Following 9/11, Pataki and New York City Mayor
Rudy Giuliani appointed the
LMDC to distribute nearly $10 billion in federal grants and to oversee the construction of a memorial. A symbolic cornerstone for the Freedom Tower with Pataki's name was laid on July 4, 2004, and after numerous design changes, construction commenced in May 2006. The memorial was completed in 2011.
Lieutenant governors Betsy McCaughey Ross Pataki's 1994 running mate for
lieutenant governor was
Betsy McCaughey, an academic best known for her critique of the Clinton health care plan. McCaughey was selected because of her work on the Clinton health care plan. Pataki choose McCaughey over sofa bed heiress
Bernadette Castro; Castro was nominated for the U.S. Senate in 1994. Pataki considered several replacement running mates. In the spring of 1998, he announced his choice of State Supreme Court Justice
Mary Donohue for lieutenant governor. In December 2006, Pataki appointed Donohue to be a Judge of the
New York Court of Claims.{{cite news |newspaper=
The New York Times ==Political involvement during gubernatorial tenure==