New York City Police Procedure

Posted on May 14, 2012 by OrenS

legislative history research New York City, along with many other big cities around America, is enjoying some of the lowest crime rates since crime statistics were recorded. Although this is a welcome change from the 1980s and early 1990s when crime was high, some police tactics have come under scrutiny. Let’s look at some laws that are aimed at improving the police department’s reputation.

News of an undercover narcotics officer who shot an unarmed teen in his home has prompted outrage and a re-examination of how undercover narcotics work is conducted. Since the teen was black some people suspect racial bias played a factor. Law A2288 explicitly prohibits racial profiling and may change the department’s controversial stop and frisk laws which have had a turbulent legislative history and sparked strong public responses.

Some recent stories of rouge cops accused of sexual assaults and drug crimes may be the motivation behind bill A3037 which requires more stringent background checks. Rogue officers are few and far between, but every instance of such offenses deeply damages the police department’s public image. No doubt this law aims to weed out problem officers before they can even become officers. A bit of legislative history research can lead to a wealth of instance in which highly publicized stories of police problems led to reformatory laws.

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Laws Protecting the Developmentally Disabled

Posted on May 7, 2012 by OrenS

New York legislative tracking Last year the New York Times released an article harshly criticizing the State of New York for not better caring for its developmentally disabled citizens. This is not the first time the state has been caught in a scandal regarding mistreatment of people with mental disabilities.  Andrew Cuomo is currently working on a sweeping bill to reform the institutions in the state care for persons with special needs. One look at New York legislative tracking will show you that many bills regarding these emotional issues are already making their way through the legislature.


One of the biggest faults the report found was neglectful, incompetent and even abusive mental health workers finding jobs after being terminated for their shortcomings. Bill SO5299 establishes a registry of people fired from mental health care related jobs and the reasons why they were fired. Hopefully people who are unfit to work with developmentally disabled persons will no longer be able to work in the field.


Other bills require new reporting procedures if a patient is missing, more explicit directive for mental health workers to follow and how instances of violence are reported at state facilities. The mayor is set to announce the changes once the administration, unions, and mental health charities work out the final details.


Once again legislative bill tracking illuminates the issues behind the headlines.

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New York State Inacting Education Laws to Protect Students

Posted on April 23, 2012 by OrenS
legislative bill tracking

Miss New York State, Kaitlin Monte, has been touring schools and promoting bullying prevention.

Recent highly publicized events, from allegations of teacher misconduct to disturbing trends in bullying, have led to a spat of new regulations regarding the New York City school system. This legislative bill tracking information is sure to interest parents.

Bill A02917, for example, requires any person firing a teacher for sexual misconducts to divulge the information leading to their firing. The goal of this bill is to prevent teachers who are fired for sexual misconduct from getting jobs at different schools. This follows a scandal in the Bronx in which teachers accused of impropriety at other schools were hired. Other bills seek to strengthen and expand the mandatory reporting practices when abuse is suspected. Bill SO6086 adds a lot of school support staff (coaches, graduate student assistant teachers, college presidents) to the list of mandatory reporters.

Recent awareness about bullying has prompted several bills that require tougher punishment for bullies, training teachers to better detect bullying, teaching students about bullying, and enforcing bully control outside of school on social networks. Bill A08504 establishes LEAD (Law to Encourage the Acceptance of All Differences) a comprehensive reaffirmation and expansion of anti-bullying policy. While several anti-bullying measures across America have failed, due mainly to religious groups fearing these bills encourage homosexuality, the ones in New York are likely to pass. Keep an eye on these reforms with legislative bill tracking.

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Reforming Marijuana Laws

Posted on April 17, 2012 by OrenS

New York Legislative ServiceNew York’s stop and frisk laws, which allow officers to stop and search suspicious persons, have led to an increase in marijuana arrests. Many lawmakers are alarmed at the fact that about 80% of the people arrested are young, minority, men. Statistics show young, minority, men use marijuana at the same rate as young, white, men. This racial disparity is the source of much tension.

Although New York legislative history tells us the state decriminalized possession of a small amount of marijuana in 1978, if the marijuana is in plain sight the offense is more severe. If a cop searches someone and pulls out marijuana, it is then in plain sight, which to some people is problematic. Often these small time marijuana busts ruin the lives of young men by costing them jobs, scholarships and housing. It can lead to a permanent criminal record.

Bill SO5187 would make all instances of small amounts of marijuana possession punishable by a small fine only. It would seek to standardize the punishment and remove any racial undertones people suspect are at play.

Other laws would make it illegal to sell candy and confections that look like marijuana and a law that would make it easier to evict people for using marijuana is conjunction with other apartment issues like over occupancy or other crime. Use legislative bill tracking to stay informed on local laws.

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New York Fire Arms Legislation

Posted on April 10, 2012 by OrenS

legislative historyWith the recent shooting of an unarmed Florida teenager, state legislators around the country are re-examining gun laws. Many suspect that several bills in New York relating to fire arms will take on a new urgency in light of the tragedy.

There are a slew of bills relating to firearms including, legislation requiring proof of a weapons permit to purchase ammo, legislation increasing the courts ability to remove fire arms from certain homes, and legislation requiring all private fire arms deals be orchestrated under the supervision of a licensed weapons dealer. Most are expected to pass considering New York State, New York City particularly, has a legislative history of strong weapons laws and the gun lobby does not hold significant power in the area.

Many community leaders and law enforcement officials applaud new, more stringent, gun control laws. Unfortunately many say their ability to keep guns off our streets is limited. Many states that are within driving distance of NYC allow bulk handgun purchases, promote gun shows, and generally have more lax gun laws. Many state officials claim these are the guns that find their way onto our streets. Tougher sentencing for gun crimes and gun buyback programs have had limited success. Use legislative bill tracking to learn more about gun control.

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The Violence Against Women Act

Posted on April 2, 2012 by OrenS

legislation tracking The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has stalled in congress, with Democrats supporting its passage and Republicans opposing it, in what is turning about to a bitter partisan fight. The bill was originally thought to be a slam dunk and has been reauthorized twice in its legislative history. It was first passed in 1994.

Republicans opposed the bills more expansive definition of violence to include stalking. They also oppose increased aid to domestic violence protection on Native American reservations and to include same sex partners. Most inflammatory to Republicans, however is the granting of temporary visas to illegal immigrants who are victims of domestic abuse. Republicans argue expanding the definition of abuse dilutes it. Some Republicans do worry however, that opposing the issue could make them lose among women voters, a key demographic Obama carried in 2008 by large margins. Republicans argue that Democrats inserted language into the bill to make unpalatable to them and then paint them as anti-women.

Democrats are pressing the issue and claiming that Republicans are using partisan bickering to block the passage of necessary legislation. Democrats felt they were victorious in the debate on contraception and many think they smell another popular issue to champion here. Keep an eye on legislation tracking to see if a compromise will be reached.

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What is Useful About Legislative Tracking

Posted on March 26, 2012 by HeinreichS

legislation trackingHow is legislative tracking important to the average person?  How is it useful?  How can it be valuable?  Well, from my own perspective I do not really have the resources to find out about every single piece of legislation out there.  Quite frankly, I would not even know where to start looking or exactly what to look for; that is not where my expertise lies after all.

Legislative tracking will help keep me updated on what legislation has some significant importance; is important enough for me to pay attention to; and what, or if, said legislation has any effect on me or what I do.  This is important to me because some decisions I may or may not agree with and I have to know what is what.  From there I can respond accordingly and maybe speak my mind if I have to.  Considering I am a law-abiding, tax-paying citizen of the United States it is in my best interest to not only track important pieces of government legislation whenever I can, but also participate in the decision-making process.

Without tracking I think I would be lost in a forest of decisions and I would be unable to figure anything out.  Thankfully, I have a tool to help me.

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Legislation Tracking: Replacing the TSA With Private Screeners

Posted on March 19, 2012 by HeinreichS

legislation trackingThe Transportation Security Administration – or TSA as they are most commonly known – has been under a lot of scrutiny lately.  From improper screening of airplane passengers to full body x-ray screenings, the TSA has been the subject of a lot of negative press and the negative feedback of the thousands of people who go through TSA screenings every day for the sake of safety and security.  Using a bit of legislation tracking, a recent law may allow for airports to replace the TSA with private screeners.

In a nutshell the new law states that any airport can opt out of using the Agency’s employees in favor of using private screeners.  The motivation for this move has been the numerous complaints made from passengers claiming improper screening methods and treatment.  Currently, 16 of the country’s 450 airports use privately hired airport screeners instead of those furnished by the TSA; this includes large airports like San Francisco International Airport.  Proponents of this move have said that using private contractors for airport security is much more cost-efficient and will save taxpayers a lot of money in the long run.  That said, these contractors have to follow TSA guidelines and fall under the auspices of the Agency; the only difference is they screeners will be not be TSA-employed.

For more legislation tracking news, keep your eye on this blog.

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Legislation Tracking: China Gives Defendents More Rights

Posted on March 12, 2012 by HeinreichS

legislation trackingHere is a bit of international legislation tracking: for the first time in fifteen years, China has decided to make changes to how they treat defendants who are facing criminal charges.

These changes to China’s Criminal Procedure Law, which saw movement on Thursday, will provide protections to those detained under suspicion of a crime.  The amendments to the Criminal Procedural Law will most likely be adopted by the National People’s Congress next week and will see the power of the police and prosecutors decreased to protect detainees.  With the new amendments, the aforementioned authorities will be unable to keep suspects in custody without notifying relatives, use information extracted through torture, or prevent defense lawyers from aiding their clients.

This is a major victory for human rights activists who have been chomping at the bit for some drastic changes to how suspects are treated.  They have argued that China’s police use illegal methods of extracting information and keeping the government’s critics in secret prisons because there have been no checks to their power.  Critics have also said that this practice of detaining any suspected subversive elements has been growing in the past years.

In light of all that has been going on in China, this is an exceptional piece of information best showcased through legislation tracking.

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Legislation Tracking: Contraceptives Coverage Policy

Posted on March 6, 2012 by HeinreichS

Legislation trackingHere is a bit of legislation tracking: on Thursday, the United States Senate blocked a bill proposed by the Republican Party that would allow employers and health insurance companies to deny coverage for contraceptives for moral or religious reasons.  Voting along party lines, the vote was very close at 51 to 48, but Democrats have successfully blocked the bill.  The Republicans that came up with the bill argued that contraception coverage violated the religious freedoms of institutions by forcing them to provide coverage.  The opposing Democrats responded by saying that the Republicans’ bill would allow companies to deny coverage for things other than contraception.

This particular policy came out of the Obama Administration and guaranteed that contraceptives for women were covered under their own health insurance or through their employer’s health insurance.

Keeping up to speed on bills, policies, policy changes, and other important pieces of legislation is important for both public officials and the average citizen walking down the street.  Legislation tracking keeps people informed as to the legislation that will most likely impact their lives in one way or another.  Even if the bill or policy does not affect you, it is best you keep yourself informed about them if the topic should come up in an important conversation.

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