If proof was ever needed that elections have consequences, the state Legislature has provided example after example in the weeks since the new Democratic majority in the Senate took office in January.
The new legislative session began with an overhaul of a state system of voting and elections that had placed New York alongside the worst practitioners of voter suppression in the country.
The new legislation will allow early voting, pre-registration of minors and voting by mail, and place sharp limits on the influence of money.
This included the elimination of the so-called LLC loophole, which has allowed corporations led by real estate interests to contribute virtually unlimited amounts of money to election races through multiple limited liability companies.
The loophole has served as a legal form of bribery, extortion or both.
The Legislature then followed with a bill that offers undocumented students access to state financial aid and scholarships for higher education.
This was followed by a new abortion law that Democrats said codifies abortion rights provided under Roe v. Wade in 1973.
The Reproductive Health Act permits late-term abortion to preserve the health of the mother, shifts the abortion law from the state’s penal code to its health code and permits physician assistants, nurse practitioners and midwives to provide abortion services.
This was followed by the Legislature’s long overdue approval of the Child Victims Act, which greatly extends the statutes of limitations for childhood sex abuse.
New York law had required that criminal or civil charges be brought before the victim’s 23rd birthday, making it one of the most restrictive in the country.
Under the new law, prosecutors can bring criminal charges until a victim turns 28, and victims can sue until age 55. The bill also creates a one-year look-back window during which old claims that had passed the statute of limitations could be revived.
There should not be any limit for criminal charges, but 28 and a look back are real progress.
This bill was then followed by the Legislature approving the most comprehensive set of gun bills in the state in six years, including measures that would ban bump stocks, prohibit teachers from carrying guns in schools and extend the waiting period for gun buyers who do not pass an instant background check.
It also included so-called red flag legislation, which will allow family members, school officials or law enforcement to ask courts to temporarily block someone from buying or owning a gun if the judge decided that person posed a potential risk.
We have supported each of these bills – as have most New York voters – as common-sense legislation.
The stumbling block for the legislation had been the Republican-controlled state Senate.
In most instances, the Republican majority leader did not even allow the proposed legislation to come to a vote.
This was the case with the Child Victims Act, which was approved by the state Assembly five times over more than a decade.
This time, the bill passed the state Senate unanimously.
The Republicans’ refusal to allow several of the measures to have a vote goes a long way to explaining why Democrats now hold a 40-to-23 majority in the state Senate.
The voters have clearly spoken and the remaining Republican legislators have apparently gotten the message.
The question is what comes next.
We hope the Democrats continue to advance legislation that promotes honesty and fairness for every New Yorker.
But there are no guarantees.
Democrats had more than their fair share of officials who ran afoul of the law in a state which ranked near the top in corrupt elected officeholders.
Republicans could play an important role in keeping Democrats honest both figuratively and literally.
In Nassau County, Republican legislators are holding Nassau County Executive Laura Curran’s feet to the fire on missteps in the reassessment process.
Even when we find some of this criticism to be disingenuous we also recognize the value of challenging the Democrat’s performance.
At the moment, there is no such check in the state of New York.
Democrats control both houses of the Legislature as well as all the top executive posts beginning with the governor.
Richard Nicolello, a Republican and the county Legislature’s presiding officer, said in an interview with Blank Slate Media that Republicans in New York needed to be more inclusive to increase party enrollment in the state.
But he acknowledged that this job was made much more difficult by the current occupant in the White House.
Not that they are asking, but one area that we see available to Republicans is finding creative ways to stay consistent with their beliefs.
Take abortion rights, which was one of the most hotly contested pieces of legislation passed by the Legislature.
Republicans could pursue their goal of reducing, if not eliminating all abortions, by legislation that would prevent unwanted pregnancies and reduce the economic penalties of having a child.
This would include support for organizations such as Planned Parenthood, which offers a wide range of family planning services, including access to contraception.
Support could also be given to easing the burden of caring for a child beginning with child care and pre-school education.
Or Republicans could redouble their efforts against abortion and other issues. And possibly go the way of the Whigs in New York.
Which would be a loss for all of us.
