[Timothy's Team] 2 Days to Pass Timothy's Law

[Bryan O'Malley]

Time Keeps on Ticking:  There are only two session days left in this
year’s regular Legislative Session, and Timothy’s Law has moved its way
into the limelight.  

 

Discussions are proceeding between the two houses at a fast and furious
pace, and both sides have expressed a desire to come to an agreement on
Timothy’s Law this year.  The Assembly has already passed Timothy’s Law
(A.8301/S.5329).  As was reported last week, the Senate has expressed an
unwillingness to pass Timothy’s Law (S.5329), and has instead introduced
another version of mental health parity (S.7296-a) that would exempt
business with 50 or fewer employees, cover a very limited number of
illnesses, and exclude parity based coverage for chemical dependency.
One of the numerous illnesses that the Senate bill (S.7296-a) excludes
is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which means that it would not
cover survivors of September 11, among others.  

 

Although Tom O’Clair has declared that the Senate bill (S.7296-a) is not
Timothy’s Law, it was reported in last week’s Albany Times Union that
Senator Joseph Bruno was calling the Senate’s version of the bill
Timothy’s Law in a letter to his constituents (see article below).  When
asked about this incident, his colleague, Senator Tom Libous, the
sponsor of both the new bill 

(S.7296-a) and Timothy’s Law (S.5329), said, "In the generic, everyone
is calling it Timothy's Law. It's a mental health parity bill.
Unfortunately, that is what happens when you name laws after
individuals." 

 

Despite last week’s article, it was reported by CapitolWire today that
Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno has identified Timothy’s Law as
among the many pieces of legislation that he would like to see resolved.
However, he went on to note that if negotiations do not result in
action, “
we're going to pass a number of these bills so the
constituency knows where we stand."

 

As is evidenced by the O’Clair family’s refusal to identify S.7296-a as
Timothy’s Law and their comments in last week’s article, it is clear
that there is no ‘generic’ version of Timothy’s Law, and advocates and
the O’Clair’s continue to maintain that Timothy’s Law is A.8301/ S.5329.


 

We now need to send a message to Senator Bruno that we want him to pass
Timothy’s Law (S.5329), not a watered down version that does not cover
80% of New Yorkers.  Tom O’Clair has made it clear that the Senate’s
current stance on mental health parity is “a far cry from Timothy’s
Law”, and after last week’s incident with the Senate choosing to call
their bill Timothy’s Law, it is more important than ever that we send
the message that they need to pass, S5329.  

 

Anything else is just smoke and mirrors. 

 

 

ACTION NEEDED!!!



Ø     Call Senator Bruno’s today, Monday and Tuesday – 518-455-3191.

Ø     Call Senator Libous’ today, Monday and Tuesday – 518-455-2677. 

Ø     Call your Senator today, Monday and Tuesday using the Senate
switchboard – 518-455-2800

Ø     E-mail these same Senators –
http://www.mhanys.org/policy/advtlc.php

 

Demand that the Senate not come home without passing Timothy’s Law
(S.5329)!!

 

Please, Do it for Timothy


 

 

 

In the News:

 

'Timothy's Law' mailing criticized 

Parents protest use of son's name in GOP letter touting Senate version
of bill 

 

By James M. Odato

Capitol Bureau 
First published: Friday, June 11, 2004

 

Albany-- The parents of Timothy O'Clair say they're offended that state
Senate Republicans are using their son's name on a revised mental health
bill they don't support. 

 

The O'Clairs, who back an Assembly bill that would require insurers to
pick up costs of mental health and substance abuse treatments, objected
Thursday to letters sent out by Senate Republicans to constituents
touting their "Timothy's Law" legislation. 

 

Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno used the boy's name twice in a June
7 letter to a Ballston Spa constituent. The letters say the Senate
version "would provide parity in insurance coverage for mental
illnesses." 

 

"They do not have my or my wife's blessing in referring to it as
Timothy's Law," said Tom O'Clair, of Rotterdam. He said it appears
Republicans are trying to gain approval from their constituents. 

 

O'Clair and other advocates of the measure that was passed the last two
years in the Assembly do not consider the Senate version worthy of
Timothy's name. Under the Senate version, only "biologically based
mental illnesses" and children with attention deficit or disruptive
behavior disorder would have to be covered by employer health plans. 

 

Letter recipient Mary Jean Coleman, who is executive director of
Samaritan Suicide Prevention Center, was also upset. 

 

“I was infuriated because not only does it refer to Timothy's Law, but
as a constituent ... if I was an average citizen, I would view it as
Senator Bruno putting out a letter to his constituents that the Senate
is doing some wonderful thing." 

 

"I do not view this as Timothy's Law," she said, adding that she was
also distressed that the O'Clairs' last name was misspelled. 

 

Assembly sponsor Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, said the Senate's bill "is
their version of parity, but it's not Timothy's Law." 

 

He and Sen. Thomas Libous, R-Binghamton, have been working on ways to
address the parity issue for two years. Libous said Thursday he is
confident an agreement will be reached because talks are going on at
high levels of both chambers. 

 

As for Bruno's use of Timothy's name, he said: "In the generic, everyone
is calling it Timothy's Law. It's a mental health parity bill.
Unfortunately, that is what happens when you name laws after
individuals." 

 

A spokesman for Bruno said the Senate "is very sensitive to the concerns
raised in this issue; it's something we are committed to addressing." 

 

The Senate has been trying to avoid a sweeping measure that would cause
insurance premiums to rise substantially. The Senate would allow
exemptions, including one for employers with fewer than 51 employees.
The Assembly's "Timothy's Law" would mandate coverage for substance
abusers as well as mentally ill.

 

Pataki, Leaders Say They Want to Pass a Few Important Bills by Tuesday.
No deal on budget, CFE

By Kyle Hughes   Capitol Wire    June 17, 2004

 

Gov. George Pataki and legislative leaders declared today they would try
to pass at least a few important bills before adjourning on June 22.
They said they remain deadlocked over the budget and CFE. 

 

Following the second leaders meeting in three days, they said they still
cannot reach three-way deals on a $100 million state budget or a unified
response to the July 30 court-imposed deadline for fixing the school
funding formula. When Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly
Speaker Sheldon Silver announced they hoped to pass a few bills of
substance by Tuesday, reporters concluded that they were anxious to
avoid leaving town without acting on any major legislation this session.


 

Pataki is sending the Senate and Assembly emergency spending bill to
keep government operating until Aug. 1, and no return for session is
contemplated until the July 30 Campaign for Fiscal Equity CFE court
decision deadline looms. 

 

Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno said the bills he was focusing on
for passage before the final gavel falls Tuesday were Rockefeller Drug
Laws, HAVA voting reform, Timothy's Law, power plant siting, Patriot Act
II, Anti-Terrorism II, and money laundering. 

 

The drug laws reform measure was the biggest item on the agenda.
Legislators have been trying without success for years to change the
laws, and convened a conference committee that worked fruitlessly on the
issue this session. But Bruno said now "we think we're close enough so
that we can conclude three ways and do it by Tuesday. That would be
historic." 

 

Bruno said reaching agreements on bills that until now have remained
side issues in the budget, healthcare and education debate may be
difficult. "Frankly if we can't agree three ways we're going to pass a
number of these bills so the constituency knows where we stand." 

 

On another big issue that was in play until this week, Bruno said he
would not support weakening the indoor smoking ban law. "We did the
smoking bill to begin with because about 430,000 people a year die from
smoking & smoking kills," Bruno said. 

 

Bruno had little to say about a stem cell research bill such as the one
that passed the Assembly Thursday. "We don't want to inhibit what's
going on," he said. 

 

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver told reporters that his list of bill to
do before Tuesday was Rockefeller Drug Laws, HAVA and Timothy's Law.
"I'm confident we can get a lot of the substance done by the close of
business next Tuesday," he said. 

 

He blamed Pataki for the nonproductive nature of the 2004 session. He
described the atmosphere as "contentious, politically partisan from the
second floor, specifically. Some of the rhetoric has been more partisan
than it has ever been before." 

 

Pataki called the session "abysmal. Simple basic proposals that are
uncontroversial have lapsed and lingered in the Assembly." 

 

"I would just hope over the course of the next five days, we will be
able to shut down a lot of these discussions and see results," Pataki
said. He said about two dozen non-controversial but important bills are
awaiting passage in the Assembly. 

 

Press secretary Joe Conway later handed out to reporters a list of 15
bills that passed the Senate this year with no Assembly action to date: 

* Patriot Plan II (S.6464) * Anti-terrorism II (S.3-A) * Expanded DNA
database (S.5554) * Eliminating statute of limitations for rape and
violent felonies (S.5554) * Gun trafficking S.3508-A) * Pena-Herrera DWI
reform (S.4869-A) * Deadly drivers (S.6541) * Tamiqua's Law (life
without parole for child murder  S.5388-A) * Civil commitment of sex
offenders (S.5556) * Megan's Law enhancements (S.6624) * Gang rape
(S.5396-A) * Repeat misdemeanors (S.5555) * Child pornography
(S.5707-A). 


  

Refer A Friend	
Friend's Name: 	 	
Friend's Email: 	 	
Your Name: 	 	
Your Email:	  	

 	

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://kilakwa.net/pipermail/timothysteam_kilakwa.net/attachments/20040618/10495203/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: clip_image002.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 3095 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://kilakwa.net/pipermail/timothysteam_kilakwa.net/attachments/20040618/10495203/attachment.jpg>