State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers 35th District) and William Mooney, President of the Westchester County Association are among several leaders and officials from Westchester and the Hudson Valley named to Governor Andrew Cuomo's new "Mandate Relief Design Team."

The concept of the team was unveiled during the Governor's State of the State address earlier this week and it is tasked with reviewing existing unfunded and under-funded mandates imposed by New York State on school districts, local governments and other local taxing districts. 

The team includes representatives from private industry, labor and government and will look for ways to reduce the costs of mandated programs, identify mandates that are ineffective and outdated and help determine how school districts and local governments can have greater ability to control expenses.

The Team is chaired by Senior Advisor to the Governor, Larry Schwartz.