MICHAEL A. L. BALBONI – Deputy Secretary for Public Safety

Governor Eliot Spitzer appointed Michael Balboni as Deputy Secretary for Public Safety in January 2007.  Mr. Balboni is the administration’s senior homeland security and law enforcement official.  A sampling of the state agencies which report to him are: Office of Homeland Security, Division of State Police, Division of Military and Naval Affairs, Department of Correctional Services, Division of Criminal Justice Services, and the State Emergency Management Office.

Prior to accepting this appointment, Michael Balboni represented the 7^th Senate District, located in Nassau County, since 1997.  Previously he served in the State Assembly for eight years.

In the Senate, he chaired the Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs where he led the enactment of several new anti-terrorism laws in New York State that criminalize acts of biological and chemical terrorism, set up security requirements for small airports and established procedures for securing chemical plants against terrorist attacks. 

In March 2004, then-federal Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge appointed then-Senator Balboni to a national Task Force that examined the flow of homeland security dollars from the federal government to local communities.  In 2005, he was named a Senior Fellow of the Homeland Security Policy Institute at George Washington University and was appointed co-chairman of the Executive Task Force on Homeland Security of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). 

In 2006, Senator Balboni was appointed to the State and Local Officials Senior Advisory Committee (SLSAC) of the United States Homeland Security Advisory Council.  In that role he helped to leverage the ingenuity and expertise of state, local and tribal leaders to provide federal Advisory Council members with the best possible advice on a range of homeland security issues.  He was also appointed a member of the Board of Advisors of the Homeland Security Management Institute of Long Island University.

Michael Balboni resides in East Williston, Long Island with his wife Stephanie and their 4 children.