Assembly Passes Revised Women's Health Bill
Amends Senate Bill To Include Medically Necessary Contraceptive Coverage; Increased Access To Preventative Care

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said the Assembly passage of a revised version of the Women's Health and Wellness legislation passed by the Senate was aimed at increasing insurance coverage for contraceptives and removing financial barriers to vital preventative health care services.

In announcing the bill's approval, Silver reiterated the Assembly Majority's commitment to ensuring quality, accessible health care for New York's women.

"For more than four years, the Assembly has sought to enact comprehensive women's health care legislation. We have passed bills and attempted to negotiate with the Senate for the benefit of women throughout this state. At every step the Senate resisted these efforts," said Silver, whose call for a conference committee in February to negotiate this legislation publicly was rebuffed by the Senate.

"In an effort to enact this much-needed measure, the Assembly has put forward this bill," said Silver. "It is my hope and my expectation that the Senate will finally hear the voices of New York's women and do the right thing by passing this revised legislation."

According to Silver, the legislation (Assembly Reprint A.30001) incorporates the contraceptive coverage proposal advanced by the Senate, but includes a provision allowing all women to access contraceptives prescribed as medical treatment. Additional amendments close insurance company loopholes that limit access to mammograms and cervical cancer screenings. The bill also requires insurance coverage for bone density measurements and other drug therapies used to detect and treat osteoporosis.

"The Assembly will not accept anything less than the bill we passed. Women should not have to wait until they are 50 years old to have access to annual mammograms; nor should their ability to undergo mammograms or cervical cancer screenings be restricted by costly co-pays or deductibles," said Silver.

The speaker praised Assembly members Deborah Glick, the bill's sponsor, Alexander "Pete" Grannis, chair of the Insurance Committee and Richard Gottfried, who chairs the Health Committee and Susan John, a longtime advocate for women's health issues, for their persistence in providing the women of New York State access to affordable health care. The bill's passage was also applauded by the American Cancer Society, Family Planning Advocates, the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League of New York State and other health-care advocates. The bill was delivered to the Senate.

Silver: New York City's School Children Are Being Shortchanged By The City And State

The speaker charged New York City and the state with shortchanging the city's children by failing to provide adequate funding for New York City's schools.

"Until we address the substantial funding needs to provide each and every child in New York City and throughout the state with a quality education, we will not be able to adequately address any of the fundamental problems facing our public education system," said Silver.

"Giving the mayor control of the schools has been presented as a panacea for all of the problems with public education in New York City." Silver noted. "But the real issue is - and always will be - resources."

Silver cited the following statistics that demonstrated how New York City Schools are undermined when compared to the resources available to other school districts in the state. "New York City shortchanges its schools by $5,150 per pupil, New York State shortchanges schools in New York City by $2,541 per pupil and shortchanging city schools leads to weaker academic performance by students," said Silver.

"The gap between state and local revenue per pupil in New York City and that of surrounding communities continued to grow last year," added Silver, who noted that under the governor's proposed budget, state revenue per pupil in New York City would fall again this year in comparison with surrounding communities. He also said this fact contributed to lower teacher salaries in the city than in school districts immediately outside the city.

Assembly Announces Superfund Refinancing Plan

Silver and Assembly Environmental Conservation committee Chair Thomas DiNapoli announced a comprehensive 10-year plan that would include bonding $200 million annually to provide desperately needed funds for New York State's highly successful Superfund program. The proposal would dramatically expedite cleanups of hazardous sites, resulting in a safer and cleaner environment for all New Yorkers.

In order to prevent future delays in site cleanups because the Superfund program has run out of money, the Assembly Majority plan (A.11048) provides a much-needed infusion of funding, deferring discussions on program changes until after a 2002-03 budget is adopted.

"We have reached a crisis stage," said Silver. "Without Superfund refinancing, there are no funds to pay existing staff, complete on-going projects, start new projects or respond to emergencies. The longer we wait to refinance the Superfund program to provide the resources necessary to clean and restore hazardous sites effectively, the greater the public-health threat. We must act now to protect and preserve our state's resources and the quality of our environment."

According to DiNapoli, while the Assembly is willing to discuss programmatic changes, without immediate action the Superfund program is in danger of coming to a complete halt.

"Linking Superfund refinancing to programmatic changes impedes progress," said DiNapoli. "That is why we must restore funding for the Superfund program now. This funding should be at a level that accelerates the cleanup of contaminated sites in order to protect the environment and surrounding communities from the health risks caused by clean-up delays."

Assembly Approves Roosevelt School Takeover Bill

The Assembly passed legislation providing for a state takeover of the troubled Roosevelt School District and the removal of its board of education.

"The Roosevelt School District has been given every chance to solve their problems with limited state intervention. However, it is now evident that the current situation is denying the Roosevelt school children the education they deserve and that a dramatic solution is required," said Silver. Silver noted the move comes after unsuccessful efforts to increase state oversight of the district, which has faced years of problems with low student performance, staff retention, school infrastructure and district management.

Silver thanked Assembly Education Committee Chair Steve Sanders and Assemblywoman Earlene Hooper, who represents the district, for their tireless efforts to bring real changes to Roosevelt to improve the future of its students. Under the bill (A.10526), the state commissioner of education would be authorized to remove the local board of education and appoint a new, five-member interim board. The bill was delivered to the governor.

Assembly Approves Bill To Raise Minimum Wage For Workers
Legislation To Increase Hourly Rate From $5.15 to $6.75

Thousands of working New Yorkers and their families would enjoy the benefits of increased wages under legislation approved by the Assembly that would raise that state's hourly minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.75 as of January 1, 2003.

"This legislation is the first step toward a living wage for working men and women in New York City and throughout New York State," said Silver. "Our support for this measure reflects our long term commitment of advocating for fair wages for all workers."

"The minimum wage has not kept pace with inflation, so in terms of buying power it is at its lowest level in many years," said Assembly Labor Committee Chair Catherine Nolan, the sponsor of the bill (A.5132A). "A significant number of family breadwinners rely on minimum-wage jobs to support their families, so an increase will result in an improved standard of living for many households all across the state."

Nolan also noted that this legislation is particularly important for the many hard-working women who head single-parent households and struggle to make ends meet on minimum-wage earnings. The bill was delivered to the Senate.

Silver Announces Time Warner Agreement To Carry Televised Assembly Sessions

Silver announced that Time Warner Cable's Albany Division has agreed to carry televised coverage of Assembly sessions on their Capital Region cable television system, beginning Monday, April 15.

"Today's announcement is a real breakthrough because it marks the beginning of what we hope will grow into a network of cable systems that will carry gavel-to-gavel- coverage of Assembly proceedings to New Yorkers across the state. Beginning Monday, we will make televised coverage of the Assembly sessions available to close to one million viewers in the Capital Region. This brings us closer to realizing our goal of providing C-SPAN-like coverage of both houses of the Legislature to all parts of the state," said Silver.

Silver thanked Time Warner for its willingness to work out all the significant technical issues and for providing a more affordable transmission technology than satellite so the sessions can be carried on most of their system's public access channels.

The speaker also thanked Assembly members Ron Canestrari, chair of the Assembly Task Force on Televising the Assembly and House Operations Committee Chair Gary Pretlow and the committee's other members for their continuing efforts to give the public the opportunity to see the Assembly's legislative deliberations in their homes.

According to Silver, Time Warner Cable will broadcast the Assembly's deliberations on Mondays from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Wednesdays from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. throughout the Capital Region. Silver noted that sessions will continue to be available on the Assembly Internet site (ASSEMBLY.STATE.NY.US).

Silver Holds Assembly Public Hearing On Lower Manhattan Air Quality
Hearing Examined Air Quality Concerns Of Residents And Workers

Silver addressed the Assembly public hearing on Lower Manhattan's air quality following the attack on the World Trade Center. The hearing examined the on-going health concerns of residents and workers who live and work near the disaster site and to discuss the best course of action for clean up. The speaker provided a progress report on what steps have been taken to address the air problems since the first Assembly hearing last November.

"After considerable foot-dragging, the Environmental Protections Agency (EPA) has signed off on a plan that will provide the resources to the city in order to clean the exteriors of more than 200 buildings in the area of Ground Zero," Silver said.

"Mayor Bloomberg, as we recommended following our first hearing, has established a task force to address environmental issues relating to September 11, and the EPA has established a task force on indoor air contamination. Because the governor would not take the action I requested, the Assembly passed legislation on March 20th requiring that low-sulfur fuel be used in all diesel engines being utilized at Ground Zero," said Silver.

Silver also noted an Assembly proposal that would fund the installation of air-testing monitors in schools. He said this step was needed to get "the straight truth about Lower Manhattan's air quality and the potential risks we are facing." The speaker also expressed his concern for recent reports of serious illnesses afflicting Lower Manhattan residents, workers and students and the recent results of ongoing air-monitoring studies by scientists and physicians indicating alarming contamination levels inside apartments, offices, education and public buildings.

"Clearly, these buildings must be cleaned inside and out, regardless of who pays the bill. The September 11 terrorists have taken enough of our friends and neighbors. We cannot allow their heinous act to poison our children, or create long-term health problems for those of us who will not be driven from our Lower Manhattan homes and businesses," said Silver.