Our Campaigns - Candidate - Joseph D. Morelle

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Morelle, Joseph D.

CANDIDATE DETAILS

Affiliation


<-	2023-01-01

Name

Joseph D. Morelle

Address

133 Deerfield Dr
Rochester, New York , United States

None

Website

None

Born

April 29, 1957 (66 years)

Contributor

nystate63

Last Modifed

NCdem
Nov 15, 2023 10:21am

Tags

Married - Catholic -

Info

Assemblyman Joseph D. Morelle grew up in the town of Irondequoit, where he resides with his wife, Mary Beth, and their three children - Lauren, Joseph Jr. and Nicholas.

Joe represents the 132nd Assembly District, which includes the eastern section of the city of Rochester and the Monroe County suburbs Irondequoit and Brighton. He was re-elected to a sixth term in 2000.

In addition to Joe's legislative responsibilities, the 44-year-old lifelong Democrat is president and CEO of MMI Technologies, Inc., a Rochester-based computer software development company.

In January 2001, Joe was appointed the chairman of the Assembly Standing Committee on Tourism, Arts and Sports Development. He is committed to working with community activists and business leaders to spur economic activity and quality of life through the fields of tourism, arts and sports.

Joe served as chair of the Assembly's Standing Committee on Small Business from 1997-2000, where he led the fight to increase access to capital and increase training opportunities.

During his tenure in the state Legislature, Joe has made economic development and expanding employment opportunities his top priority. At Joe's request, the Speaker created the Subcommittee on Manufacturing. The main objective of the subcommittee, which Joe chairs, is to give the manufacturing community in New York a greater voice in state government.

In addition to the Tourism Committee, Joe's standing committee assignments include Economic Development, Job Creation, Commerce and Industry; Local Governments; Libraries and Education Technology; and Higher Education.

He also served on the Speaker's Task Force on Budget Reform and the Workers' Compensation Reform Task Force, and he was co-chair of the Assembly's Welfare Reform Task Force.

Joe is a leader in promoting New York's remanufacturing industries. Realizing the eco nomic and environmental benefits of these emerging industries, Joe has led the charge in Albany to ensure the future economic success of remanufacturing. Working closely with New York toner cartridge remanufacturers, he has begun to investigate potential barriers to competition that could edge these valuable companies out of the marketplace. In addition, he has successfully secured over $4 million for remanufacturing centers in the state.

After three years of intense negotiations, a tremendous victory was achieved in the fight to promote New York's remanufacturing industry, create jobs and protect the environment. On June 23, 2000, the Governor signed Chapter 95 of the Laws of 2000, which prioritized the purchase of remanufactured commodities through the state procurement process.

The more than 70 laws authored by Joe include major reforms to the workers' compensation system, which have provided needed relief to New York businesses. Joe also penned laws to reform the telecommunications industry, thus facilitating greater competition, creating more choices and lowering costs for consumers. Additionally, he enacted legislation to deter abuse of food stamps and aided our senior citizens by increasing their real property tax exemption.

He wrote the Eastridge Law, a new statewide mandate that stiffens penalties for juveniles who bring firearms to school. Under the new law, signed in August 1998, 14- and 15-year-olds who bring firearms to school will be charged as adults. Before, teens that age were prosecuted in Family Court. Joe proposed this legislation after a January 1998 incident in which a teen brought a gun to a school dance at Eastridge.

Joe also sponsored legislation, signed into law in September 1998, which overhauls state laws regarding the sale, advertising and fitting of hearing aids. New York State was the only state in the country that did not effectively regulate the dispensing of hearing aids. The new law creates a new licensure system within the Department of State, expanding enforcement powers over the industry and establishing comprehensive standards and important consumer protections.

In 1999, Joe enacted legislation that allows ill seniors to terminate their apartment leases so they can live with family members. Before Joe's new law, state law only allowed seniors to terminate leases upon entering a nursing home facility. In addition, Joe is the sponsor of legislation, which would require criminal background checks for people working in nursing homes, home health care agencies and group homes.

In 1997, Joe was selected by the New York State Small Business Development Center to participate in a trade mission to the People's Republic of China. Joe and the New York delegation helped foster trade relations between New York businesses and China's developing private business sector. As a result of this important mission, he has hosted a number of delegations from China to further develop trade relations.

In 1994, Joe sponsored the Bruno/Morelle Economic Growth and Competitiveness Act of 1994. This measure, which was incorporated into the 1994-1995 state budget, cut business taxes by more than $1.6 billion when fully implemented in 1997. This achievement earned him the prestigious Champion of Industry Award from the Upstate Roundtable on Manufacturing.

In 1992, Governor Mario Cuomo named Joe as an Outstanding Young Political Leader. In 1994, Joe was invited by the not-for-profit Council of Young Political Leaders to represent New York State in a delegation from the United States to Taiwan. There he met with many government and business leaders to discuss economic and cultural development in Taiwan in addition to trade with their world markets.

Joe has a long history of public service. In 1983, he was elected to the Monroe County Legislature. He was re-elected in 1987 and served as the Legislature's Vice President and Assistant Majority Leader. He served in the county legislature through 1990, the same year he was first elected to the state Assembly.

Joe's community involvement includes the Advisory Board of the Rochester Institute of Technology's Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies, the North Winton Village Association and a former coach of Irondequoit Athletic Association Basketball.

He also is a member of the Greater Rochester Metro Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, the New York State Library Association and the Eastridge Kiwanis, who recognized his outstanding service to the community by naming him the 2000 Kiwanis Person of the Year.

Joe is a graduate of Eastridge High School and received his bachelor's degree in Political Science from the State University College at Geneseo. He also recently returned to the classroom, working toward a master's degree in Information Technology.

Joe also is an inductee of the Eastridge High School Hall of Fame and the State University of New York Alumni Honor Roll.

Joe's wife is a teacher at Eastridge Junior High School, and all three of his children attend East Irondequoit schools.

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