Resolution No.35 of 2013 TITLE: In Opposition to the Manner of Passage of the New York SAFE Act.

WHEREAS, The New York State Constitution requires a three-day waiting period between the introduction of any legislation and the vote on it but a special clause allows the governor, in the event of an emergency, to issue a "message of necessity" suspending the three-day waiting period; and WHEREAS, the so-called NYSAFE legislation (S2230/A2388) was rushed through the legislature under a message of necessity; and WHEREAS, this process circumvents reasonable consideration and discourse by legislators as well as inhibiting public comment and consideration; and WHEREAS, of 56 sections in the bill, only two begin immediately, the rest will not be effective for various time periods ranging from 60 days to one year; and WHEREAS, the message of necessity has become an increasingly used method for Governors and the legislature to disregard the requirements of the law concerning allowing time to debate legislation; and WHEREAS, Governor Cuomo used the message of necessity 34 times during his tenure as governor in 2011 and 2012, compared to 57 times in 2010 alone, he has still used such messages to stifle debate on controversial issues such as the Marriage Equality bill in 2011; and WHEREAS, a 2004 report by the Brennan Center for Justice found that 27 percent of all major legislation passed issued from a message of necessity and from 1997 through 2001, 95.5% of the major legislation in the Assembly and 95.1% in the Senate were passed without any debate; and WHEREAS, the exigence was predicated on a tragic incident in another state but the action of the statute relates only very tangentially to the actual event and contains neither language nor provision that would have inhibited that callous crime; and WHEREAS, it is the expectation of the populous that the legislative and executive branches of government would initiate actions that impact citizens rights in a profound and immediate manner only after thoughtful deliberation and further after interaction with their constituency; and WHEREAS, the effect of this legislation is to disenfranchise and discriminate against a particular group within our society; and WHEREAS, the governor has pledged to inflict no new unfounded mandates on local governments yet this legislation places several costly mandates on County governments with no corresponding revenue; and

WHEREAS, this legislation increases the cost of state government by a minimum of $40,000,000 annually in perpetuity as well as increasing the size and complexity of state government; and WHEREAS, this huge expenditure was also done without normal public notice, consideration, analysis and input to their representatives which may be construed as a form of taxation without representation; and WHEREAS, groups such as the NY State Sheriffs Association and New York State Association of County Clerks have pointed out numerous difficulties and issues with the statute that would have been avoided had the public and relevant organizations been allowed to comment and assist in the drafting of this legislation; now therefore be it RESOLVED, that the Town of Argyle condemns the use of a message of necessity to pass the New York SAFE Act; and be it further RESOLVED, that the Town of Argyle further calls upon the Governor and legislative leaders to drastically reduce the use of the message of necessity to those truly emergent occasions for which it was intended; and be it further RESOLVED, The Town of Argyle calls upon the legislature to recall this expensive, internally inconsistent legislation and address the matter in a normal, timely manner allowing for thoughtful, informed action after consideration of appropriate public input. The Board voted as follows: Councilman Healey Councilmen McClenning Councilman Sullivan Councilman Ayers Supervisor Henke -

Said Resolution was duly adopted on February 6, 2013. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and the seal of the Town of Argyle, Washington County New York. ______________________ Clerk Dated: _________________