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Synopsis of The Annual “Joint Budget Hearing – Environmental Conservation.” Every year, state agencies such as the DEC have a hearing regarding how much money they need for the upcoming year’s operations. The DEC, is actually the Environmental Conservation Department, hence Joint Budget Hearing – Environmental Conservation. Other state agencies also have their own Joint Budget Hearings, but Environmental Conservation indicates the DEC. This year the DEC’s hearing is Thursday, January 28, 2016, from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. The location is: Hearing Room B, 2nd Floor, at the state house in Albany of course. The hearing will also stream live as a video and also be available as an archived video at least for some time. The word “Joint” refers to the presence of both the state senate and state assembly. However, it is not the entire senate and assembly; it is the Senate Finance Committee and the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, or at least their chairs, who at this time are Senator John DeFrancisco and Assemblyman Herman Farrell. The Senate and Assembly Environmental Conservation Committees do not necessarily participate in this hearing, as this is a matter of funding. Besides the DEC testifying on its own behalf, the public can also make suggestions about funding the DEC. Perhaps a dozen persons who represent a variety of diverse organizations will testify. In 2015, even Susan McDonough, a former state trooper (16 year veteran), who now is the NYS Humane Association Chair of the Committee on Animal Cruelty issues had testified. Although the record of McDonough’s testimony addresses the Agriculture Markets Department, an agency that might have been relevant to her testimony, apparently McDonough got lost and ended up in the Environmental Conservation Hearing were she asked for tens of thousands of dollars to be used to train police officers and dog control officers about animal cruelty. McDonough asserted that animal cruelty is a “bridge crime” and testified that serial killers often have a history of animal cruelty and indicated Jeffrey Dalmer and the Boston Strangler are examples of this. If YOU want to testify here is how you go about it. You call Jessica Jeune (518-455-3573) at least two days before the hearing. The DEC is scheduled on Thursday, January 28, 2016. Therefore you must call Jeune no later than Tuesday, January 26. Your testimony must be limited to ten minutes and you must bring 50 copies of your testimony with you.