Sponsored by Legislator Jasenski:
A RESOLUTION URGING THE NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATURE TO RECEIVE PUBLIC INPUT INTO THE NEW YORK SAFE ACT AND REVISIT THE PROVISIONS OF THE ACT AS THEN SHALL BE DEEMED APPROPRIATE
WHEREAS, the New York State SAFE Act was passed by the New York State Legislature on January 15, 2013, and was signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo on the same day; and,
WHEREAS, the manner in which the New York State SAFE Act was adopted afforded little opportunity for public input into the provisions of the law; and,
WHEREAS, public input is an integral component of the legislative process and often leads to the adoption of better legislation; and,
WHEREAS, the SAFE Act expressly states that no costs of this law shall be borne by local governments, questions remain as to the extent county departments will experience increased workload and costs due to the new requirements under the law, particularly provisions regarding pistol permit recertification which has been assigned to the State Police but will involve increased processing requirements for County Clerks offices where local applications are currently processed and provisions requiring the local director of community services (county Commissioner of Mental Health) or his or her designee to receive reports from all mental health professionals who believe that their patient is likely to engage in conduct that would result in serious harm to self or others; and,
WHEREAS, our body of laws should always be open to review and reexamination with the intention of making them better serve the residents of New York State; now therefore be it,
RESOLVED, that this Legislative Body urges the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly to hold public hearings in all regions of the state on the provisions of, and implementation of, the New York State SAFE Act, and after a fully inclusive series of hearings, with a full opportunity for all points of view to be heard, revisit the provisions of the law as then shall be deemed appropriate, such that those portions of the legislation which demonstrably make New York safer, like those identified by the New York Sheriff’s Association, are maintained, and those provisions which are deemed to be ill-advised or ineffectual are modified or removed; and be it further
RESOLVED, the Clerk of the Schenectady County Legislature is hereby directed to send certified copies of this resolution to the Governor of the State of New York, the Speaker of the New York State Assembly, and the Temporary President of the New York State Senate.