Explanation of the Monroe County resolution courtesy of William W. Napier Chief of Staff for the Majority Office:
Absolutely, it legally counts as a resolution of the Monroe County Legislature.
There has been some confusion because of the odd way how Monroe County handle resolutions. Every single resolution of the Legislature, whether bonding, drug laws, or taxes begins as a very simple form of communication from either the county executive or a legislator indicated the intent to do a certain thing. In the case of Monroe’s SAFE Act resolution that is the part of the pdf, pages 2-3, that begins “To The Honorable” .
Monroe handles non-binding resolution like those adopted in 44 other counties by having Legislators signify their support by signing on to the resolution. This has been the way Monroe has adopted these non-binding resolutions for approximately 25 years.
In this case, the body has 29 members and over two-thirds, 20, supported the resolution which was also joined onto by the County Executive.
Also like the resolutions passed by the other counties, the Clerk of the Monroe County Legislature will send a certified copy of the resolution to Gov Cuomo and state legislators on Wednesday, Mar 13th.