By Hank Russell
A series of bills introduced by Long Island Republican Assembly members were held by committee by the Democrat-controlled Assembly, which means these bills will not come up for a full vote.
On April 9, these bills were voted on in the Assembly’s respective committees and each one was defeated. The following bills that were rejected included:
- The TAP Prohibition for Antisemitic Activity, introduced by Ari Brown (R-Cedarhurst), which would have prohibited the granting of tuition assistance awards to any student who has knowingly engaged in certain antisemitic activities. The bill was referred to the Higher Education Committee, where it was voted down, 17-7.
- The Smash and Grab bill, introduced by Keith Brown (R,C,-Northport), which would have established the crime of coordinated petit larceny, made the crime bail-eligible and created a public service campaign on larceny. The bill was defeated by the Codes Committee, 15-7.
- The Hate Crimes Against First Responders bill, introduced by Joe DeStefano (R-Medford), which would have increased the penalty for committing offenses against law enforcement, emergency medical services personnel and/or firefighters and designated these offenses as hate crimes. Codes defeated the bill, 15-7.
- The Employee Protection Concerning Shoplifters bill, introduced by Michael Fitzpatrick (R-Smithtown), which would have prohibited employers from retaliating against employees for confronting an individual to prevent a theft or the unlawful taking of merchandise from the store. It was referred to the Labor Committee, where it was struck down by an 18-8 vote.
- The Supervised Injection Sites Ban bill, introduced by Ed FLood (R-Port Jefferson), which would have prohibited supervised injection sites. The bill was referred to the Health Committee, which rejected the bill by a 17-6 vote.
- Another bill from Flood, the “Public School Instructional Materials Review and Transparency Act,” which would have established a review process for formal complaints by parents or guardians concerning instructional material being taught in public schools. This bill was referred to the Education Committee, where it was rejected, 22-8.
- The Murder of a Minor bill, introduced by John Mikulin (R-East Meadow), which would have ensured that individuals convicted of committing murder of a minor (under 18 years old) in the first or second degree are sentenced to life without parole. Codes rejected the bill, 15-7.
- The DSA Act, introduced by Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square), which would have required state colleges to implement programs and training to curtain incidents of antisemitism on campus; institutions that fail to comply would lose public funding. As previously reported in Long Island Life & Politics, the bill was defeated by Codes, 15-7.
LILP reached out to a Long Island Democrat Assemblyman Charles Lavine (D-Glen Cove), a member of the Codes Committee who voted against some of these bills. “These are already crimes in New York,” he replied in a statement. “The Republicans have nothing to run on, other than fear mongering.”
Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R,C,I-Pulaski), who had two of his bills voted down, cited a Marist College poll from November showing 59% of New Yorkers feeling that the quality of life in New York has gone down and a Siena College poll in February showing crime and the migrant crisis as one of the top issues on New Yorkers’ minds.
“Albany Democrats won’t even look in the direction of legislation that makes people safer, puts guardrails on the migrant crisis or supports the men and women of law enforcement. It’s yet another example of how the public interest runs a distant second to party loyalty for members of the Majority Conference,” Barclay said. “It’s not surprising Democrats blocked Republican bills in committee, but they offer nothing in the way of solutions. Today’s committee work gave us a clear indication of why and how one-party rule continues to fail us.”
Keith Brown expressed dismay that his bill will not come up for a vote. “Now, my Assembly colleagues and I will not have the opportunity to debate or vote on this bill, which would have established commonsense penalties for theft, further strengthening our criminal justice system, judicial discretion and overall public safety in our state.” he said.” Leave it to the Assembly Majority to brush aside a proposal that would help keep thieves off our streets and New Yorkers safe.
“While this outcome is discouraging, I will not give up fighting for our retail stores and businesses that have suffered from theft and proposing solutions that will protect store owners and consumers alike,” Brown said.