Gary D. Finch

LEGISLATIVE COLUMN FOR THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 15, 2006

FROM THE DESK OF ASSEMBLYMAN FINCH

THERE WAS NOTHING ‘SPECIAL’ ABOUT LAST WEEK’S SPECIAL SESSION

     At the end of the regular legislative session this summer, my colleagues and I remained disappointed that another year had passed without a civil confinement law in New York state. After Wednesday’s special session, called by Governor Pataki specifically to address the issue of civil confinement, we are even more dissatisfied.

     The Senate passed a civil confinement bill on Wednesday by a unanimous vote that included Lt. Gov.-elect David Paterson and incoming Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith, both close colleagues of Speaker Silver.
Yet Speaker Silver held the civil confinement bill in committee and held the Legislature at a standstill for hours only to end session without public debate or a public vote on this important issue.

     I am committed to improve the protection of our communities from sexual predators. In Albany, my colleagues and I had repeatedly pushed the Speaker to allow real civil confinement legislation reach the floor for public debate and a public vote. At home in my district, I have funded projects in several counties that allow for the most updated registry system be readily available for my constituents. The registry is an
important part in curbing sexual predators by allowing families, schools and authorities the ability to locate and monitor where sexual predators are living in our communities.

     Wednesday’s special session bore no results regarding civil confinement, a sure disappointment to seemingly all legislators except the Speaker. The Speaker recently said he did not want legislative pay raises – which I do not support – to be a “political football.” It is evident to me the only “political football” currently being played is the Speaker leaving the door wide open for the most dangerous sexual predators to be
released back into our communities, posing a dangerous threat to re-offend, without receiving proper treatment for their mental illness.

     I assure my constituents and all New Yorkers that my colleagues and I will continue to fight on their behalf for the passage of civil confinement. When it comes to our children and their safety, there is no
compromise.

                                                                                 -30-