Home rule message fails in Suffolk legislature

A measure backing a state bill for a study on making Long Island a state failed last week in the Suffolk County Legislature.

The home rule message was for a bill introduced by state Sen. Kenneth LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) to create a commission to study the feasibility of creating a state of Long Island, and to authorize a nonbinding referendum on statehood in Nassau and Suffolk in November 2015.

Deputy County Executive Jon Schneider said LaValle's office never approached the Bellone administration about the bill. Schneider commended LaValle for "fighting for Long Island's fair share of state funding." Nassau officials could not be reached to determine if the county legislature has sent a home rule message.-- Rick Brand