By Hank Russell
Assembly Minority Leader Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square) called this week in Albany “Kill Bill” Week, but it has nothing to do with the Quentin Tarantino film. Rather, it had more to do with the Assembly Democrats preventing any Republican-sponsored legislation from advancing to the floor.
Ra said these bills were commonsense bills that would have increased penalties on animal abusers and child predators, provided assistance to veterans and expanded tax credit assistance to senior citizens.
Among the bills that the Democrats stifled are:
- two bills sponsored by Ari Brown (R-Cedarhurst) — one that would enact the “Veteran Support and Opportunity Act,” providing 100% disabled veterans with property and income tax exemptions, expanded education benefits, employment protections and access to a centralized state resource portal; and another that would requires utilities and municipalities to add a line item to customer bills showing costs tied to the Climate Action Council’s Final Scoping Plan.
- A bill sponsored by Jake Blumencranz (R-Hicksville) that would enact the “New York State Animal Justice Act” to establish comprehensive criminal offenses related to animal cruelty and the killing of animals and create an Animal Abuser Registry within the Division of Criminal Justice Services.
- two bills sponsored by Jarrett Gandolfo (R-Bayport) — one that would raise the income cap for senior citizens applying for the enhanced STAR property tax exemption to $120,000; and another that would require the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) to implement a no-fare program for LIRR passengers who are in active-duty military service or who are active-duty members of the New York National Guard.
- a bill sponsored by Jodi Giglio (R-Riverhead) that would require the attorney general’s Office of Special Investigation to conclude investigations into alleged offenses committed by police officers or peace officers that resulted in a death and issue a report within 60 days of initiating the investigation.
- two bills sponsored by Daniel Norber (R,C-Great Neck) — one that would strengthen penalties for disrupting or disturbing a religious service, funeral, burial or memorial service and another that would include wearing, carrying or displaying a symbol of a designated foreign terrorist organization in a public place if it’s reasonably understood as threatening or intimidating a person or group to the definition of aggravated harassment in the first degree, a class E felony.
With the budget a month and a half overdue — the latest since 2010 — Ra said the Democrats would rather play politics with “commonsense” legislation than try to get the budget passed.
“Albany Democrats can’t get a budget done and they can’t let commonsense legislation advance. New Yorkers want results from Albany, but instead, they’re getting nothing more than partisan dysfunction,” Ra said. “From strengthening public safety protections to supporting our service members and providing transparency on monthly utility bills, our Conference’s proposals would help millions and deserve an up-or-down vote on the floor. They reflect the concerns and priorities of the constituents we represent, and address issues New Yorkers deal with every day.”
Long Island Life & Politics reached out to the office of Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx), but did not hear back as of press time.