Greg Ball is proud to announce that his efforts to crack down on DWI have now gained the attention of Assembly leaders. New legislation passed the Assembly to make it a felony to drive with a passenger who is a child under the age of 15, while intoxicated with a blood alcohol content of .08, subjecting the defendant to a possible prison sentence of up to 1-1/3 to 4 years for a first offense. This is the toughest sentence in the nation for any first time DWI offense with a child passenger.

Greg has been leading the charge in Putnam County to enact zero tolerance common-sense laws to keep our roads safe from drunk drivers. He announced the formation of a new coalition of law enforcement, elected officials and business owners who came together to crack down on DWI.

Together with the Putnam coalition, Greg announced the Zero Tolerance Plan, which includes local and state legislation to heighten penalties for driving under the influence as well as create awareness and prevention education programs for bartenders through the Putnam Sheriff’s office. To learn more about the plan and how you can help bring the plan to Dutchess County, e-mail Greg at ballg@assembly.state.ny.us.



This year was a landmark year in terms of getting Albany lawmakers’ attention focused on Autism. Greg introduced historic legislation to ensure all children affected with Autism have health insurance. This bill gained bipartisan support thanks to his legislative lobby day and by him hosting the first-ever statewide legislative conference on Autism at the State Capitol.

To help promote research and services for children with Autism in our area, Greg delivered two state grants for the Devereux Millwood Learning Center totaling $30,000, and for his efforts to increase awareness of Autism, our Assemblyman was honored by the Foundation for Educating Children with Autism.

Greg’s efforts to protect the current and former employees laid off by IBM gained a lot of media attention this year, but there was much more work done behind the scenes to improve our regional economy as well. Greg worked with local chambers of commerce to help small businesses increase profits and create jobs in the Hudson Valley.

One of Greg’s bills, A.5677, would help keep jobs in our state by prohibiting the state from giving taxpayer-funded incentives to businesses that offshore jobs. This bill would prevent companies like IBM from receiving $50 billion in taxpayer dollars while outsourcing American jobs.

Fill out this Report Card to grade Greg’s performance as our representative; print out and send to him at 2392 Route 6, Brewster, NY 10509.

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