The Boondocks blog, No. 25 for the week starting April 23, 2007.
Thursday
Trash Burning Bill Passes Assembly
Friday
The Assembly's Gun Control Package
Betty Little Introduces Morelle ATV Bill
Energy looks at high energy prices and our future.
Enviroman looks at man and the environment.
Hayseeds looks at politics and life in our nation.
Individual looks at myself and how I'm changing
Outblog is all about my outdoor experiences.
Transit looks at the changing ways we get around.
Truck gives you stories and trips in my Ford Ranger.
Trash Burning Bill Passes Assembly. As part of their Earthday package, the Assembly on Monday passed A.5457 that would ban burn barrels and the burning of solid waste on farms.
That is not a new thing. As Assembly Minority Leader Pro-Tem Brian Kolb asked, "how many years have we been passing this bill?". He also asked why it lacked a Senate co-sponsor to which Assemblyman Sweeney replied that the "Senate has their own version that is not a same as". No real debate other then that.
Eight members voted in the negative on this: Greg Ball of eastern Dutchess/Putnam County, Dan Burling of Bativa/Finger Lakes Region, Joe Giglo of Gowanda/Southern Tier, Democrat Alien Gunther of Sullivan County, Steve Hawley of South-West of Rochester, Pat Kirwan of Dutchess/Orange/Uster County, Democrat and Chair of Agriculture Magee of south-east of Syracuse, and Anne Rabbitt of Orange/Rockland.
What is most interesting is how so many members from the Hudson Valley opposed a ban on trash burning, while most upstate members supported it including many conservative republicans. I can just see Janet Duprey, Terry Sawyard, and Diedre Scozzafava, going back home and braging about how they worked so hard in Albany to ensure that their constituents can't burn their trash anymore.
Honestly, I was surprised that Bill Parment voted for this bill. He usually votes against it. Then again, nobody really takes this measure seriously as it will never pass the Senate by the close of session this year.
Interest group wise, the Farm Bureau was a strong oppose, EANY was a three-tree support (but not a priority bill), and (New York Conference of Mayors) NYCOM was a support. The NYCOM memmo was deceptive as it failed to note that small towns under 20,000 already have the power to ban trash burning if they so want by local law. P'Link
The Assembly's Gun Control Package. As is the tradition around here at the Assembly, they have passed their annual rehashing of the gun-control debate in a package of 10 different bills. They are
The first Koon bill (A.3451) requires that all seized guns/bullets be submitted to state crime lab for ballistic fingerprinting. This seems like a reasonable measure.
The O'Donnell measure (A.1497) is a commonsense one requires that judges in criminal or domestic violence cases ask the accused whether or not he pocesses a weapon on oath, when their is reason to suspect that a weapon will be used in the future. Again, that is a pretty reasonable bill—owning a firearm is not a crime unless your disqualified—and if it is self-incriminating one can either plead to the fifth amendment or demand immunity in response to the question.
The second Koon bill (A.3447) makes sense as it only covers a specific type of bullet that has no practical use in hunting, sportsmanship, or personal protection. Bullets that splinter when they enter a animal or can go through armor have no real purpose unless your in to human killing.
The Dinowitz Bill (A.463) is more troublesome. Most of us agree the people convicted of most serious of crime, the felony, should not have access to firearms. That said, once they have served their time and have become good members of the community, as verified by a certificate of relief, then maybe their rights should be restored. People sometimes make mistakes and learn from them. That said, the Board of Parole or the convicting court should not be giving out Certificates of Relief to every felon. And indeed, all repeat felons are automatically disqualified from ever recieving such a document. Look at it this way. Should Alan Hevesi be forever banned from owning a firearm, because he used a state paid security agent to drive around his wife? While his felony wasn't violent per se, somebody like Kathy Boudin might deserve a firearm these days if she wanted one. Shooting a cop isn't nice stuff, however what people did and believed in the 1960s is different then today.
The Paulin bill (A.6525) involves increasing liability and paperwork at gun shops. It sounds like a good idea, although it poses serious concerns for small gun shops who might not be able to pass the cost of this mandate onto purchasers.
The Weisenberg bill (A.76) increases liability to gun owners in cases when kids take them an use them in commission of a crime. While everybody should keep their guns safely locked up, accidents happen and kids break in and steal guns. Forcing people to defend affirmatively that they attempted to prevent access to firearms is counter to how our justice system works.
The Englebright bill (A.829) might make it difficult for hunters to accurately fire their firearms, and make burdensome new standards on firearm manufacturers.
The Titone bill (A.7331) expands the definition of assault weapon to include new guns that are banned in New York. Some people say it's too broad, I'm not enough of a gun expert to say.
Eddington's bill (A.2771) banning 50-caliber weapons is interesting. This is a very big gun, with little practical use. It's almost the size of a cannon with bullets 7" long. Sure you can blow big holes into almost anything with it from planes to your neighbors barn 2 miles away (if you live on the Tugg Hill Plateau), but it's so bulky and difficult to move around, nobody really uses it much for crime. But people are worried about these big toys, and owners of it love them and don't want to have to give them up to the governor or disable them.
At least, that's how I see it. Many people have very passionate views on gun control, and don't look carefully at each measure. Indeed, you see when reviewing the votes that there is a significant uniformity P'Link
Betty Little Introduces Morelle ATV Bill. It looks like the Senator from the eastern part of the North Country has put in a same as to A.2747 - Morelle that would set up a trail fund among other things. Little's same as bill number is S.5303. See previous Boondocks blog entries for a comparison to other bills.
The good news is that this might make the ATV trail fund proposal a reality in the future. There is some opposition to the Morelle bill by the environmental community, but the Assemblyman and his staff has spent a great deal of time working to try to appease them. Some might argue the bill doesn't go far enough, and doesn't allow trails in the forest preserve, but those complaints aren't grounded in the reality of the Albany process.
The best hope for this bill is for Senator Little to get it through her house this year, and then hope the Assembly will follow suit. Getting it out of Codes and onto the floor, and a final vote are the real challenge. While we have the votes clearly in the Tourism committee, Codes and certainly whole body may have a different view on the issue. P'Link
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All mistakes are intentional or otherwise.
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