End-of-Session Round-Up

At the end of the legislative session each year, the New York State Catholic Conference – which represents the bishops of the state in working with government to shape laws and policies that pursue social justice, respect for life and the common good -- issues an end-of-session round-up that provides the status of the major pieces of legislation the Conference tracked over the last six months. Here are some highlights:
 
Physician-Assisted Suicide 
S2445-A (Hoylman-Sigal)/A995-A (Paulin)
The Conference credits Catholics, together with its partners in the disabilities community, patients-rights advocates, and other religious faiths, with once again preventing enactment of the physician-assisted suicide bill in the 2023 session, “despite an unprecedented push by sponsors and advocates.” This was the Conference’s top legislative priority. 
  
Abortion Pill on SUNY/CUNY Campuses
A1395-C (Epstein)/S1213-B (Cleare)
This legislation, which the Conference opposed, requires all public university campuses to make the abortion pill available to students, either directly on campus or through contracts with local providers. The bill passed both houses of the legislature in April and was signed into law by Governor Hochul.
 
Hospice and Palliative Care Access and Quality
S4858 (Hinchey)/A5587 (Wallace)
This bill, which the Conference supported, would establish the Office of Hospice and Palliative Care Access and Quality to increase access to such care for patients at the end of life. New York ranks last in the nation in access to hospice care. The bill passed both houses last year but was vetoed by the Governor, who explained in a veto message that since the bill had fiscal impact to the state, it should be done in the budget process. The bill again passed both houses of the legislature and awaits Executive action.
 
Equality Amendment
S108-A (Krueger)/A1283 (Seawright)
This legislation would amend the state Constitution to ban unjust discrimination against persons based on a broad variety of classes and characteristics. Fortunately, revised language rightly places religion on the same level of the expanded list of classes. Unfortunately, it also includes “reproductive healthcare and autonomy” and “pregnancy outcomes” in this list, which effectively makes abortion a constitutional right in the state. The amendment has now passed two separately elected legislatures and now advances to a referendum, which will be on the ballot in 2024.
 
Clean Slate Act
S7551-A (Myrie)/A1029-C (Cruz)
While supportive in concept of this legislation, which would seal misdemeanor and most felony convictions (except Class A felonies and sex crimes) after a certain timeframe, the Conference has long expressed strong concerns with the legislation because, as originally drafted, it would not have permitted background checks conducted for Catholic schools and other church ministries to utilize sealed conviction records for positions that involve working with children or vulnerable adults. In the three-way agreement negotiated with Governor Hochul and the two houses of the legislature, the bill was amended to permit such records to be utilized in background checks for our schools. The bill passed both houses and awaits Executive action.
 
Mandated Services Aid
Our Catholic schools are now receiving their Mandated Services reimbursement payments in two rounds, the first being 90 percent of their payment, then a second round of another 7.5 percent, for a total of 97.5 percent.  Fortunately, we were successful in having the legislature reject the Governor’s proposal to limit the state’s liability for such payments to the “amount appropriated” within the state budget. This means the 2.5 percent deficiency will be paid to our schools in next year’s state budget, if not before.
 
The entire session Round-Up is available here. 

Aid to Catholic schools

While the Governor and state legislators work to finalize the state's annual budget, there is still time to contact your local representatives and urge them to include adequate funding for Catholic schools. Here is a link from the NYS Catholic Conference that can help you do just that.

Catholic Conference end-of-session round-up

The New York State Catholic Conference, which represents the Bishops of the state in working with government to shape laws and policies that pursue social justice, respect for life and the common good, has released its annual end-of-session round-up for the state Legislature.

One of the many victories cited by the Conference involved physician-assisted suicide. Advocates for the proposal failed to get a vote on the bill in any committee in either house of the legislature. 

 

Another concerned the Clean Slate Act, a proposal with good intentions but possibly dire consequences. This legislation would have sealed most criminal convictions after three years (misdemeanors) or seven years (felonies), with few exceptions. Safe environment directors in the state noted that this would be very problematic in terms of ensuring the protection of children in our programs, as background checks would not pick up older crimes, including violent crimes against children. 

 

The Halt Solitary Confinement Act, which would dramatically reduce the use of solitary confinement in state prisons, was passed and signed into law by Governor Cuomo.

 

The report ended with a “thank you” to the members of the Catholic Action Network, whose members responded to Action Alerts from the Conference with tens of thousands of e-mails to state legislators. The Network, an arm of the Catholic Conference, gives us all a larger voice in the halls of government. Through e-mail and social media alerts, it reaches tens of thousands of Catholics to provide educational updates on the important issues being debated and to provide the tools to simplify the process of contacting elected officials.

 

The full report is available here.

Save the date

March 19 is the New York State Catholic Conference’s 2014 public policy day, Catholics at the Capitol. It will be at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany. To register, go here.

Join with the Cardinal Dolan and the Bishops of New York State for a day of workshops and advocacy on issues of grave importance. Many participants will meet with their legislators. Others will be a visible symbol of Catholic unity in the halls of the state Capitol. Everyone will participate in Mass with the Bishops. Lunch will be provided. There is no registration fee, although donations to offset costs are gratefully appreciated . . .

Questions about casinos

The New York Times reports that the Coalition Against Gambling in New York (CAGNY) "has no office, no paid staff and basically no money." The Times describes it as "a ragtag array of religious conservatives who associate gambling with social ills, liberal intellectuals who see gambling as a form of regressive taxation, and skeptics who believe that Mr. Cuomo has overstated the economic promise of his casino plan."

That casino plan would allow up to seven full-scale casinos in New York and is Proposal One in next week’s election. It is a proposal that many newspapers, such as the Albany Times Union, believe has been "rigged" to favor a positive result. These newspapers say that, instead of just asking if voters want the casinos, the ballot language includes the additional words "for the legislated purposes of promoting job growth, increasing aid to schools, and permitting local governments to lower property taxes through revenues generated."

Polls have shown that most people oppose the idea of opening more casinos, but that when they read the rosy language of the ballot proposal, they support the ideas of job growth and lower taxes, even though there is no guarantee that those promises will ever be fulfilled.

The Coalition Against Gambling is waging what some consider to be a losing effort to defeat the proposal. However, they are not alone. As we mentioned in an earlier post, the New York State Catholic Conference has issued a statement raising questions about increased gambling. Bishop William Love of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany issued a statement on why he would not be voting for the measure.

The New York State Council of Churches has a statement in opposition to the proposal here.

Many more can be found at the CAGNY website at http://cagnyinf.org

Bishops address casino gambling vote

The Catholic Bishops of New York State have issued a statement about the upcoming vote on casino gambling. Speaking as "pastors and citizens," they note that a study commissioned by the Connecticut Division of Special Revenue on the economic and social impact of Indian casinos in the state, found:

that while the casinos did boost employment and revenues, they also resulted in serious numerous negative consequences in the areas near the casinos and for individuals. These included a 400 percent increase in embezzlement arrests, a doubling of DWI arrests, and an increase in substandard and illegal housing for undocumented workers. Of the problem gamblers studied in the report, 62 percent gambled until their last dollar was gone. Personal bankruptcies in areas where the state’s two Indian casinos are located were more than 10 percent higher than the national norm in seven of the 10 years after the casinos were built. We must ask, will the presence of casinos forever change the character of areas like Saratoga Springs, the Catskill Mountains and the Southern Tier?

The entire statement is here.

Pursuing Justice

The New York State Catholic Conference, which is responsible for translating Catholic teachings into action in the public policy arena of New York State, has released a new version of its social justice booklet that explains how Catholic social teaching intersects with public policy.

While the Conference often speaks about issues that have both moral and political dimensions, it directs its attention to the issues, not to political parties or candidates. The Bishops do not instruct people how they should vote, nor seek to form a religious voting bloc, nor support or oppose political candidates.

The Conference encourages Catholics across the state to become more aware, concerned and active in efforts to shape public policies for the betterment of all society, by joining the Catholic Action Network and raising our voices on behalf of the voiceless.

You can read the entire document and print the PDF version here.

Political guildelines for Catholics

The New York State Catholic Conference has posted guidelines for permissible activities by Catholic organizations. Titled Pastors, Parishes and Political Responsibility, it is available here. Some examples:

Permissible Church Activities
- Endorsing/opposing legislation, including ballot referenda
- Homilies/bulletin inserts on moral issues, and on the moral responsibilities of voters
- Providing educational materials on public policy issues, but not candidates, to parishioners
- Arranging for groups to meet with their elected officials to advocate for or against legislation
- Encouraging letter-writing, phone calls and other contacts with candidates and elected officials about issues
- Inviting all candidates for public office to a Church-sponsored public forum, debate, or candidates’ night
- Conducting a nonpartisan voter registration drive on Church property
- Distributing unbiased candidate questionnaires or voting records on a wide variety of issuesProhibited Church Activities
- Endorsing/opposing candidates for political office
- Homilies/bulletin inserts regarding specific candidates
- Distributing or permitting distribution of partisan campaign literature under Church auspices or on Church property
- Arranging for groups to work for a candidate for public office
- Funding or financial support of any candidate, political action committee, or political party
- Inviting only selected candidates to address your Church-sponsored group, or permitting/hosting political meetings on Church property
- Conducting voter registration that is slanted toward one party
- Rating candidates numerically, or "favorably" or "unfavorably"

TV Clip of Bishop Hubbard Discussing the Minimumm Wage

New York’s Catholic Bishops are adding their support to the push to raise the minimum wage. They say the working poor are unable to get by on the current amount, and need help to get ahead. Recently, Albany Bishop Howard J. Hubbard appeared on YNN’s Capital Tonight to discuss how the Catholic Conference is trying to build support for the bill. You can watch the interview here.

Public Policy Day

The New York State Catholic Conference’s 2012 public policy day, Catholics at the Capitol, will be held on Tuesday, March 13, at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany.

There is no registration fee. An on-line registratiion form is available here. Trainnig materials will be available here in coming days. You will be contacted with further information regarding buses and local training sessions. (Note: the Albany and Ogdensburg Dioceses will not be providing transportation.)

Additional note: Knights of Columbus members and their families who are coming to Albany with their councils, and who are not planning to participate in legislative meetings, should not register through the NYS Catholic Conference or their diocese. Please contact Marty Ryan, State Chairman, at PGKFDD@optonline.net for bus information and other details.

Catholic Conference Announces Legislative Agenda

The New York State Catholic Conference Legislative Agenda for 2012 is available on-line. From the Introduction:

In his encyclical “Caritas in Veritate” (“Charity in Truth”), Pope Benedict XVI reminds us, “To desire the common good and strive towards it is a requirement of justice and charity. The more we strive to secure a common good corresponding to the real needs of our neighbors, the more effectively we love them.”

One of the ways we as Bishops attempt to fulfill this requirement is through the work of the New York State Catholic Conference, which exists for the very purpose of pursuing justice by working within the legislative arena. The Conference helps to shape public policies that protect and enhance the dignity of all people, from the very beginning of life until the natural end. Such work must not be left to the Catholic Conference alone; all Catholics have a duty to be engaged in the public square and to put the common good ahead of party politics. Catholic teaching cannot be labeled or dismissed as simply conservative or liberal, Republican or Democrat. In all things, we must ask, “Does this policy enhance the dignity of the poor, the vulnerable, the sick, the elderly, children, the imprisoned, those least among us?” For as our Lord taught us, what we do to these, we do to Him.

While policy issues can often be complex, our guiding principles are not. Thankfully, the Church has outlined seven easy-to-understand principles of Catholic Social Teaching that guide us in the formation of our positions on public policy matters. They are:

Respect for the Life and Dignity of the Human Person
A Call to Family, Community and Participation
Recognition of Human Rights and Responsibilities
Special Concern for the Poor and Vulnerable
The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers
Solidarity With Our Brothers and Sisters
Care for God’s Creation

Read more here.