FIFTEEN NEW LAWS

Enhances Sentencing for Hate Crimes

Governor David A. Paterson this week signed 14 bills into law including legislation that will allow individuals to register their consent online to be an organ and tissue donor, and enhances a judge's sentencing options for hate crimes, among others. Governor Paterson vetoed one bill. These bills are in addition to the budget legislation on which the Governor acted. 

The Governor signed A.10664/S.4999-A into law, which allows individuals to register with the State's "Donate Life Registry" over the Internet. Currently, prospective registrants can visit the registry website but must print out a form and return it by mail to effectively register. By allowing online registration, this new law will simplify the enrollment process, encouraging more New Yorkers to register their consent to the recovery of their organs and tissues for purposes of transplantation or research at the time of their death. 

Until the website is up and running, New Yorkers can register their consent to donate with the New York State Donate Life Registry, operated by the Department of Health (DOH) by visiting the DOH website ( www.nyhealth.gov/donatelife ) to print and mail the registration form; calling DOH at 1-866-NYDONOR (1-866-693-6667) and requesting a copy of the form by mail; or checking the appropriate box when applying for a new or renewed driver's license or non-driver's identification card at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), or when registering to vote through the Board of Elections (BOE), which will result in DOH mailing a form for completion. 

"Today, approximately 108,000 people - 9,600 of them New Yorkers - are on the national waiting list for organ transplants. On average, 19 people die every day in United States because they did not receive a desperately needed organ,"Governor Paterson said. "I have heard from many New Yorkers on this issue, including from some whose loved ones have died or may die because the supply of organs is outpaced by the demand. The bill I have signed into law will allow online enrollment with the Donate Life Registry, making it much easier to register as a donor and thereby increasing the number of people who do so."

Governor Paterson also signed into law A.9220-A/S.7575, which will allow the courts to include a program, training session or counseling session on hate crime prevention and education as part of the sentence for a defendant convicted of a hate crime. 

"I am proud to sign this legislation that will not only allow hate crimes violators to understand why such an intolerant mindset is wrong, but will teach them the importance of embracing people of different backgrounds," Governor Paterson said. "As New York is a melting pot of different heritages, races, and ethnicities, it is vital that we broaden our minds to people different from ourselves." 

The following bills were also signed into law: 

A.2346/S.7127: Directs the Division of Housing and Community Renewal to give preferences to economically feasible projects located on former brownfield sites when considering applications for funding affordable housing development. 

A.8531-A/S,6058: Broadens the exemption from public inspection and copying of any information, regardless of the source, where the exposure of that information would jeopardize a State agency or other entity's capacity to guarantee the security of its information technology assets. This bill is a departmental bill of the New York State Office of Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure Coordination (CSCIC). 

A.8540/S.7610: Allows the New York City Board of Elections to conduct its own procurement and leasing. 

A.8693/S.6910-A: Authorizes the New York State Board of Elections to set standards for the change of a candidate's mailing address and requires a candidate to provide the board with depository information.

A.9174-A/S.6215-A: Provides certain employees of the New York City School Construction Authority (SCA) an opportunity to buy back service credit, by paying both the employee's and employer's costs, for time during which they were suspended from their employment due to SCA fiscal problems, beginning December 1, 2002 until their return to such service prior to January 8, 2008.

A.9829/S.6762: Authorizes health care professionals licensed in other states to provide services to athletes at the Ironman triathlon competition to be held in Lake Placid later this month.

A.9992/S.6945: Authorizes the Village of Plandome Heights, Nassau County, to discontinue, sell and convey the use of certain municipal parkland.

A.11322/S.7583: Extends the effective date of chapter 172 of the laws of 2002 amending the public authorities law relating to the powers of the New York mortgage agency.

A.11352-A/S.8151; A.11353-A/S.8152; A.11354-A/S.8153: These three bills will define the Election Day paper ballots that will be used with the new optical scanning voting machines, to provide for the timing of poll openings and the duties of election inspectors in relations to these voting machines, and to provide for the canvass of the election process that would be conducted with the new voting machines, respectively.

S.4823/A.8174: Authorizes the Onondaga County Water Authority to operate and maintain the Town of Constantia's water system.

S.7858-A/A.11099-A: Clarifies the authority of New York City Parks Enforcement Patrol officers to issue summonses for violations of rules of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation applicable in the Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Governor Paterson vetoed A.6453-A/S.6196-A, which would have directed the Commissioners of Education and Health to establish a program to facilitate the sending of prepared but un-served food by educational institutions to voluntary food assistance programs.

Governor Paterson said: "While this bill is very well-intentioned, I could not sign this legislation into law as it imposes significant administrative burdens on both the Department of Health and the State Education Department, and does not provide the resources to meet these responsibilities. In light of the current fiscal crisis, I must take great care to ensure that I do not place unfunded mandates on our State agencies."