September 26, 2008
GOVERNOR PATERSON SIGNS LAW TO PROTECT SEXUALLY EXPLOITED YOUTH
“Safe Harbor” Law to Provide Support and Social Services to Victims
Paterson Also Signs Law to Establish Green Residential Building Grants Program
Governor David A. Paterson today signed a package of bills into law which will strengthen consumer protections, enhance child protection services and improve reproductive health care education and outreach.
Among the bills in the package is A.5258-C Scarborough / S.3175-C Volker which creates the “Safe Harbor for Exploited Youth Act” and requires local districts to provide crisis intervention services and community based programming for exploited youth. Currently, individuals under the age of 18 who are arrested for prostitution or other illegal activities of a sexual nature enter the criminal justice system with the legal presumption that they are juvenile delinquents. This bill would decriminalize child prostitution, recognizing these children as victims, not criminals, and provide them with necessary social services.
“As a society we must do everything in our power to prevent sexual exploitation, but when it does occur we must be prepared to assist our youth with appropriate outreach services. For too long we have been disciplining young children who are the victims of brutal sexual exploitation instead of providing them with the necessary services to reintegrate them into society and ensure they receive adequate crisis intervention,” said Governor Paterson. “This law establishes a Safe Harbor Act which will ensure that sexually exploited youth receive counseling and emergency services as well as long term housing solutions.”
In addition, the Governor signed into law one of his program bills, S.8134-B Maziarz /A.10684-B Cahill, which establishes a green residential building grant program as well as A.2005-C Lupardo / S.5442-B Marcellino which enacts the State green building construction act.
“I am proud to sign these bills into law establishing the first residential green building grant program for New York State. There are numerous environmental benefits to building green including reducing greenhouse gases, lowering energy costs, improving air quality, preventing pollution and conserving natural resources,” said Governor Paterson. “As a society we must continue to find ways to improve our environment and this program, along with the green building construction act, is one of many steps my administration has taken to ensure that we leave our future generations with a cleaner, healthier society in which to live.”
Additional Bills Signed into Law Include:
A.2986 Weisenberg / S.1558 Marcellino – Prohibits the storage or pumping of water into the Lloyd Sands Aquifer
A.8527-A Weinstein / S.6203-B Volker – Establishes a procedure for claiming exemption from execution of a judgment, and exempts a portion of the funds in an account into which statutorily exempt payments have been made
A.10502 O'Donnell / S.7124 Volker – Requires automatic sealing of accusatory instrument of offender eligible for youthful offender adjudication of criminal charge
A.10765 Rosenthal / S.7695 Volker – Creates new crimes related to computer tampering with, and unlawful duplication of, electronic medical records
A11657-A Rules (Weinstein) / S.8569-A DeFrancisco - Requires a court to review orders of protection, warrants of arrest and sex offender registries prior to issuing orders of custody or visitation
S.3669 Winner /A.8014 Farrell – Imposes a civil penalty for the possession of counterfeit cigarette tax stamps
S.7449 Kruger / A.10803 Titus – Ensures compliance with federal requirements that states review the criminal history background of prospective foster and adoptive parents
A.11773 Rules / S.8723 Rules – Permits NYC to operate a marine transfer station to process recyclable materials generated in NY County
Reproductive Health Care Package:
- S.4019-A Hannon / A.5505-B Gottfried – Extends professional privileges granted by hospitals to licensed midwives
- A.7674-B Paulin / S.5018-B Hannon – Provides for an education and outreach campaign to improve birthing procedure outcomes
- A.5278-A Wright / S.7468 Little – Provides for health care education relating to uterine fibroids as part of the health care and wellness education outreach program
- A.8730-C Schimel / S.6210-A Hannon – Authorizes health care practitioners to prescribe antibiotics to the sexual partners of patients they have diagnosed as having chlamydia infection
Agriculture:
A.5973 Magee / S.2019 Larkin – Expands the agricultural direct marketing assistance program
S.6922-A Little / A.10574-A Magee – Includes land used for agricultural research by not-for-profit institutions within the definition of "land used in agricultural production"
Alcoholic Beverages:
S.8165-A Winner / A.10855-A Schimminger – Reduces the deposit on each keg purchased for off-premises consumption, and extends the sunset of keg registration requirements
A.10657 Schimminger/ S.7636 Alesi – Changes the notification date by which wholesalers must give notice to alcoholic beverage retailers of delinquencies
S.6955 Larkin / A.10161 Magee – Authorizes wineries and farm wineries to apply for multiple licenses to conduct 5 wine tastings per license
Business:
A.9073-B Morelle / S.6151-B Winner – Makes null and void any provision of a franchise which prohibits a dealer of motor fuels from purchasing or selling unbranded motor fuel
A.10082-A Alessi / S.7018-A LaValle – Exempts certain ferries and property used by such ferries from sales taxes
A.10884 Morelle / S.4675-A Hannon – Authorizes health insurers, medical service corporations and health maintenance organizations to establish wellness programs
S.8681 Golden / A.11736 Rules (Silver) – Expands the investment tax credit (ITC) for brokers, dealers and investment advisers
S.8633 Rules / A.11599 Rules (Bing) – Provides certain Gramm-Leach-Bliley transitional provisions related to tax elections by banking corporations will continue to apply after January 1, 2010
Children and Families:
A.7858-E Destito / S.5482-E Griffo – Improves the coordination of child protective investigations by multi-disciplinary teams
A.10228 Paulin / S.7185 Saland – Allows immigrants to receive residential domestic violence services
S.2978-A Robach / A.4425-A Mayersohn – Allows child protective services units to access the criminal history reports of adults residing with children alleged or suspected to be abused or neglected
Consumer Protection:
A.9163-A Bradley / S.175-B Alesi – Prohibits the practice of zone pricing for motor fuel by wholesalers
S.7892-A Fuschillo / A.11015-A Lafayette – Prohibits adverse credit actions against a consumer solely because he or she was a victim of identity theft
S.632-A Marcellino / A.319-A Pheffer – Prohibits automated teller machine operators and banking institutions from imposing a fee on consumers using such machine when the transaction is denied
S.1645 Sabini / A.6601-B Magee – Provides that a pet dealer must give notice to a person who purchases a dog that a dog residing in the state must be licensed
Criminal Justice:
A.2385 Cusick / S.56-B DeFrancisco – Establishes the crime of disturbance of a funeral or memorial service
A.4988 Eddington / S.8035 Flanagan – Would require Parole, DPCA and OTDA to promulgate guidelines for housing of sex offenders in order to prevent "over-concentrations" of such offenders in the community
S.2061-A DeFrancisco / A.6308-A Weinstein – Amends the criminal mischief statutes to provide that a person can commit that crime by damaging jointly owned property without the consent of the co-owner
S.6949-A LaValle / A.9271-A Lentol – Expands the powers of campus security officers
Education:
S.7124-B Winner / A.10201-B Lifton – Establishes a New York State Center for Rural Schools at Cornell University
S.7381 LaValle / A.11135 Glick – Makes technical corrections relative to student financial aid and student loans
S.7981-A Saland / A.10549-B Weisenberg – Provides that members of committees on special education may provide parents of children with handicapping conditions with a list of available programs and services
S.7952-A Flanagan / A11099-A Englebright – Authorizes the State University of New York at Stony Brook to lease certain lands to the Stony Brook Foundation or its affiliate for the
construction of a new academic Center for Geometry and Physics
S.7148-B Farley / A.9691-B Tedisco – Legalizes special education transportation contracts of the Scotia-Glenville school district for 2005-2006 school year
Energy and Environment:
A.10343-C Kavanagh / S.1282-D Maltese – Prohibits the confinement of companion animals in vehicles in extreme temperatures
S.1823 DeFrancisco / A.3143 Schimminger – Provides for longer suspensions of operating privileges for operating a vessel either recklessly or while under the influence of drugs or alcohol
A.11398 McEneny / S.7760 Farley – Modernizes and expands protections afforded to State-owned archaeological and historical sites
A.10137 Conte / S.8579 Marcellino – Directs the commissioner of parks, recreation and historic preservation to rename Cold Spring Harbor state park in Suffolk and Nassau counties as Jupiter Hammon park
Health:
S.7560-A Alesi / A.840-B Englebright – Directs the Department of Environmental Conservation to develop and implement a public information program on the proper disposal of drugs
A.6423-B Carrozza / S.3143-B Golden – Provides for disclosure of certain terms of coverage provided in a long term care insurance contract
A.10680-B Destito / S 3643-B Leibell – Requires the director of homeland security to assist nursing homes and assisted living facilities with disaster preparedness plans
A.1143-B Brodsky / S.1592-B Libous – Directs the commissioners of environmental conservation and health to produce an environmental facility and cancer incidence map
A.10121 Destito / S.7110 Griffo – Extends, for four years, a demonstration program authorizing additional adult day care slots in Oneida County
A.11468 Hannon / S.8449 Rules (Gottfried) – Requires the Department of Health to establish and maintain a registry of home care services workers
S.7754-A Hannon / A.11000-A Dinowitz – Allows the Hebrew Home for the Aged at Riverdale to receive a certificate of authority under the standards that applied prior to April 1, 2007
Judiciary:
A.8722-A Ortiz / S.5860-A Rath – Provides clarification on child custody proceedings where a parent is activated, deployed or temporarily assigned to military service
S.8387 Gonzalez / A.9548 Farrell – Authorizes retired city clerks in New York City who served for ten or more years to solemnize marriages
Labor:
A.10252-A Hooper / S.7990 Skelos – Raises the mandatory retirement age from 62 to 65 of police officers and firefighters who have elected to contribute to the New York state and local police and fire retirement system
A.10774 Gianaris / S.7916-A Padavan – Requires public utility companies subject to local laws requiring prevailing wages on certain street work to comply with prevailing wage record-keeping requirements
S.7180 Robach / A.2457 John – Requires the posting of a payment bond whenever a municipal corporation issues a permit for a public works project
S.6489-A Marcellino / A.11271 Nolan – Provides that the waiting period for unemployment benefits for striking workers shall not apply when a permanent replacement worker has been hired
S.8425 Alesi / A.11638 Rules (Alfano) – Extends for two years the provisions of law allowing authorized agents to represent unemployment benefits claimants
S.7002-A Hannon / A.11196-A Saladino – Authorizes the Village of Lloyd Harbor to offer an optional twenty year retirement plan to Carl R. Kieninger
Veterans:
S.1830-A DeFrancisco / A.4323-A Magnarelli – Waives filing fees for initiating a civil court
action where the action is a direct result of active duty service in the organized militia or the
reserve armed forces
S.3574-A Lanza / A.6518-A Cusick – Provides that military personnel serving in a combat zone shall be exempt from NY state tax on income for such service
Local Governments:
S.4571 Young / A.7969 Parment – Authorizes an assessor employed by more than one assessing unit to designate a staff member to act on his or her behalf before any board of assessment review
S.5298-A Bonacic / A.6593-B Gunther – Authorizes the Sullivan county legislature to appoint nine members to its industrial development agency
S.7019 LaValle / A.10081 Alessi – Ratifies and validates certain acts of the town board of Southold in establishing the Fishers Island sewer district
S.7161-B Saland / A.10346-B Miller – Allows the comptroller of the town of Poughkeepsie to reside outside of the town but within the county or an adjoining counties
S.8442 Rules / A.11145 Destito – Authorizes the Rome City School District to grant property owners a ten-year property tax abatement for construction of residential real property
Retroactive Property Tax Exemptions:
- S.7220 Trunzo / A.10912 Ramos – Hands Across Long Island
- S.7338-A Morahan / A.9851-B Jaffee – Moleston Fire District
- S.7481 O. Johnson / A.10520 Raia – Suffolk Jewish Center
- S.7715 Trunzo / A.10911 Ramos – Adelante of Suffolk County
- S.6465-A O. Johnson / A.9405-A Raia – New York Gospel Assembly
- S.6785-A Fuschillo / A.9722-A Sweeney – Redeemed Christian Church of God
- A.10089-A Weinstein / S.7128-A Kruger – Khal Zichron Mordechai
