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Public Safety & Terrorism
Government’s first priority is to ensure the safety
and security of its citizens. That’s why the Assembly Republican
Conference has led the fight for the passage of nearly every single
important public safety and protection initiate – from restoration
of the death penalty and passage of Megan’s Law, to enactment of
civil confinement and the defeat of Governor Eliot Spitzer’s
unlawful proposal to give illegal aliens driver’s licenses. On issue
after issue, year after year, the Assembly Republicans have led the
way, overcoming countless procedural, legislative and procedural
roadblocks thrown up by the Assembly Majority.
The Assembly Republican
Conference has again proposed a comprehensive public protection
Package, including proposals to protect our most vulnerable
populations from sexual predators and other criminals; suppress the
rise of gang violence and gang-related crimes; and prevent, prepare
for, identify, and respond to threats and acts of terrorism.
Moreover, we ensure that law enforcement officials are provided with
the additional tools they need to do their jobs safely and to the
best of their abilities.
The Legislature must be proactive in passing legislation that
addresses the most dangerous
criminals. Whether they are repeat sex offenders who threaten our
women and children or terrorists who indiscriminately target
hundreds of people in each attack, New York cannot be too cautious
in keeping our communities safe.
During negotiations in 2007 between Legislative Leaders and the
Governor, topics such as
criminalizing Human Trafficking, expanding the DNA Database,
prohibiting the sale of violent and sexually explicit video games to
minors and increasing penalties for chronic criminals were
discussed. Although legislation to criminalize Human Trafficking was
passed, all other issues were left unresolved. Assembly Republicans
remain committed to passing these important measures in 2008.
In order to protect our communities from known sex offenders, the
Assembly Republican
Conference supports the following initiatives:
Require lifetime parole supervision for violent felony sex offenders
and prohibit good behavior allowances (early release from prison)
for these offenders;
Establish guidelines regarding the placement, location, relocation
or settlement of high-risk registered sex offenders in our
communities for the purpose of minimizing the number of sex
offenders placed within a residential area or an area that already
contains a high concentration of sex offenders; and
Require all sex offenders assigned a Level 3 risk or designated as
sexual predators, sexually violent offenders, or predicate sex
offenders, to be placed on active electronic monitoring.
To improve the effectiveness of Megan’s Law, the Assembly Republican
Conference supports legislation that would:
Remove the affirmative defense that allows offenders who do not
return the required annual address verification form to escape
punishment if they can prove they have not moved;
Create a Class E felony for submitting fraudulent information
regarding identity or residence for registration or verification
purposes;
Require, rather than permit, law enforcement to disseminate
information on Level 2 and sex offenders to vulnerable populations;
Allow visitors to the state sex offender website to register for
e-mail notification when sex offenders move to their zip codes;
Authorize law enforcement to release a Level 2 sex offender’s exact
address and address of that offender’s place of employment to
vulnerable populations;
Prohibit the employment of registered sex offenders in any position
involving direct contact with children, while also requiring
employers and volunteer organizations to conduct criminal background
checks of childcare employees and volunteers;
Increase penalties for subsequent convictions of public lewdness and
make public lewdness a registerable offense unless the court finds
that registration would be unduly harsh or inappropriate; and
Require the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles to continue to provide an
updated list of Level 3 sex offenders, including name, aliases,
photographs and other background information so that it is readily
available to officers in patrol cars.
Suzanne’s Law - Increases the penalties for specific crimes if
committed upon school grounds, also increases number of areas
designated as “school grounds.”
Chronic Criminal Act - Creates the crime of “Aggravated Criminal
Conduct” when a criminal
commits a Class A Penal Law misdemeanor after having been previously
convicted of three or more Penal Law misdemeanors (or felonies)
within the previous 10 years, punishable as a Class E felony and up
to four years in state prison.
Crimes Against the Elderly or Disabled - Expands the crime of
Endangering the Welfare of a
Vulnerable Elderly Person to include acts committed by persons other
than caregivers or against any person over the age of 70, and
provide that specified crimes would be deemed to be one category
higher when the defendant targets a victim because they believe the
victim to be elderly or disabled, whether or not that belief is
correct.
Animal Fighting/Buster’s Law - Increases the penalties for promoting
animal fights or paying to attend or betting on an animal fight.
This proposal also increases penalties for Aggravated Cruelty to
Animals (Buster’s Law) and requires those convicted to undergo
psychological evaluations and treatment.
Criminal Street Gang Abatement Act of 2008 - Provides a clear
definition of criminal street gang and criminal street gang
activity; enhances penalties for gang-related crimes; criminalizes
gang recruitment; expands successful prevention and intervention
programs; authorizes the use of roving wiretaps; revises the state
accomplice corroboration requirement; establishes a state witness
protection program; and creates a statewide gang database.
Criminal Use of a Firearm - Imposes additional 5-year mandatory
prison sentences on first-time as well as repeat violent felony
offenders.
Commencement of a Criminal Action - Changes the time at which a
criminal action is commenced from “the filing of an accusatory
instrument against a defendant” to “the time of arraignment of a
defendant” to allow law enforcement ample time to complete its
investigation.
Requires SSN to Obtain a NYS Driver’s License - To ensure Governor
Spitzer’s driver’s license plan cannot be resurrected, the Assembly
Republican Conference has introduced legislation to clarify the law
by mandating that the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles require
applicants for driver’s licenses to provide valid Social Security
Numbers or proof of ineligibility.
Reporting Convictions of Illegal Aliens - Requires post-conviction
notification to the federal
government by district attorneys following conviction of a
non-citizen of a felony, to allow the federal government to consider
deportation or removal of that non-citizen, and specifying that
these individuals can be required to serve their sentences prior to
being turned over for deportation.
Terrorism Prevention Act - Creates the State Emergency Health Powers
Act and specifies the state’s duties and powers to gather data and
to ascertain and meet threats to the public health (i.e.
bioterrorism). Promotes public safety and strengthens existing law
by facilitating investigations and prosecutions of terrorism and
other crimes through numerous procedural reforms (i.e. roving
wiretaps) and enhances the ability to identify, prepare for and
respond to terrorism by increasing penalties and extending
additional protections to the public (i.e. offenses related to
agricultural adulteration and cyber-terrorism).
Border Security - We urge the federal government to continue to
secure our nation’s borders. We recommend increasing federal law
enforcement presence along the northern border or providing New York
State with sufficient funds to use state resources to augment the
limited personnel and resources U.S. Customs and Border Protection
has allocated to the New York-Canadian Border. Moreover, our ports
of entry for cargo should be secured by increasing foreign port
scanning of cargo for nuclear and radiological threats, and
searching cargo for other national security hazards once Customs and
Border Protection completes its radiation scanning equipment
deployments.
Underground Infrastructure Protection - Creates a pilot program
which grants tax credits of up to $650 per device to utilities and
other private businesses for the cost of installing locking manhole
covers/manhole gates over areas accessing highly critical
infrastructure in New York City. |
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