LI senators picked to lead committees

ALBANY - Two Long Island senators landed plum leadership posts Tuesday, while two longtime veterans returned to the assignments they held prior to the GOP losing power two years ago.

The State Senate announced that John Flanagan (R-East Northport) will take over the Education Committee and Charles Fuschillo (R-Merrick) will head Transportation - two key issues for the Long Island delegation. They were handpicked by Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre), who announced assignments for all 32 committees.

"I'm very happy to be given the opportunity; I understand the importance of it," said Flanagan, ticking off property taxes, mandate relief, school assessments and charter schools as some of his priorities. He also acknowledged that, with New York facing a $10-billion budget shortfall, the committee might be in the position of school-aid freezes or reductions rather than increases.

"I will stick to the principal that we need to incorporate fairness and equity" for all regions in whatever funding decisions the legislature makes, said Flanagan, who led the Corporations, Authorities and Commissions Committee until Democrats took over the chamber in 2009.

Fuschillo, who previously headed Consumer Protection, also moved to a higher profile post as the Transportation chairman. He said the panel will focus on how to "spend money wisely to ensure that our roads and bridges are safe and that the railroad and bus systems we depend on are run to serve the riders, not the other way around."

Senate veterans Kemp Hannon (R-Garden City) and Kenneth LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) returned to the same spots they occupied in 2008, at Health and Higher Education, respectively. Another veteran, Carl Marcellino (R-Syosset), was switched from Environmental Conservation to the Investigations and Government Operations Committee.

Long Island's two freshman senators also will lead committees - members of the party that controls the Senate almost always get a chairmanship. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) will head Consumer Protection; Jack Martins (R-Mineola), Local Governments.

The one member of the delegation who didn't get a chairmanship was Owen Johnson (R-West Babylon). He will serve as vice chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which he led in 2008. A GOP spokesman said Johnson would assist Finance chairman John DeFrancisco (R-Syracuse).