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A look ahead

Posted 1/2/20

We're only three days into the new year and it's already shaping up to be one of great significance, not only here in Sullivan County, but throughout New York State.

Locally, we will see several …

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A look ahead

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We're only three days into the new year and it's already shaping up to be one of great significance, not only here in Sullivan County, but throughout New York State.

Locally, we will see several long anticipated projects come to fruition, including the Eldred Preserve which is expected to open later this year and the Grow the Gateways initiative that was recently adopted in the Village of Monticello and the Town of Thompson.

Statewide, there are several new laws which took effect on New Year's Day. Their impacts will become even more clear in the months ahead.

New bail reform measures eliminate monetary bail for people facing misdemeanor and non-violent felony charges. Instead, people will be released either on their own recognizance or with non-monetary conditions imposed by the court, such as reporting to a pretrial services agency.

A USA Today Network New York survey of county jails estimates that, under the new law, some 3,800 people will be released from jails across the state. Supporters hail the reforms as a step in the right direction away from policies they say unfairly target lower-income people. Critics argue it puts public safety at risk.

Law enforcement personnel and district attorneys from across the state have been critical of the reforms, citing that judges will no longer be able to set bail for a long list of misdemeanors and non-violent felonies, including stalking, assault without serious injury, burglary, many drug offenses, and even some kinds of arson and robbery.

Our neighbors in New Jersey overhauled its bail system three years ago, allowing for more people to remain free while awaiting trial. Some predicted this would cause a spike in crime. A 2019 report from the state's Administrative Office of the Courts says that people released under the new system are no more likely to commit a crime while waiting for their trials than those released under the prior system based on money bail.

New Jersey's bail rules also include a nine-factor Public Safety Assessment tool to determine flight risk, as well as other ways of pre-trial monitoring. New York can learn much from the Garden State moving forward.

The same day bail reform measures went into effect so did the The Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act. The legislation was passed last summer to help ensure equitable housing and working conditions by granting collective bargaining rights, overtime pay, disability and paid family leave coverage, as well as unemployment benefits.

Advocates of the bill claim it's a victory for farm workers' rights while groups like the New York Farm Bureau anticipate labor costs to skyrocket for farmers who already struggle to make ends meet.

The value of reform is always measured by its intended benefits against its unintended consequences. Time will tell whether one outweighs the other.

We face serious issues here in New York that require us to move forward with new ideas. It demands that we put politics aside and recognize the areas where things work and where improvement is needed.

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