[Timothy's Team] Speaker Silver makes Timothy's Law a priority for this year

[Bryan O'Malley]

"I will not rest, Peter Rivera and Paul Tonko will not rest, the
Assembly Majority will not rest until Timothy's Law is state law, and
until there is mental health parity in New York this year!"  - Assembly
Speaker Sheldon Silver, addressing MHANYS Legislative Conference
 
"No, that is being smart.  When you have the hundreds of people around
here saying, 'Pass Timothy's Law,' they (Republican senators) say, 'I
want to, and I will, and I support Timothy's Law, and I support all
parts of it. Bruno doesn't.' " - Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, on
why his Majority colleagues signed on to a bill he and Senator Thomas
Libous have called "irresponsible,"- as reported by Erik Kriss of the
Syraucse Post-Standard.
 
 
Well, as many of you are aware, it has been a very busy two weeks.  The
event on March 16 was an overwhelming success, with a couple hundred
brave, hearty individuals braving the snowstorm to come to Albany to
honor and pay tribute to Timothy O'Clair on the memorial of his death.
The event was a rousing success, with rousing speeches from the
O'Clairs, as well as Assemblymembers Tonko and Rivera.  Over a hundred
of Timothy's friends from Mohonasen High School provided a real dosage
of energy for the affair, continually yelling and cheering in support of
their friend, and the legislation named in his memory.  
 
The rally led to several articles highlighting Timothy's Law in the
local media.  As is noted at the top of this page, Senate Majority
Leader Joseph Bruno followed up the March 16th rally by commenting to
reporters that his Republican colleagues did not really support
Timothy's Law, but instead put their names on the bill so that they
could blame Bruno when their constituents came asking for it to be
passed.  MHANYS believes that this is not true, that the 34 Senators who
co-sponsor Timothy's Law are not trying to play a game of smoke and
mirrors with their constituents, that they really do support Timothy's
Law.  
 
In order to prove this, we are asking you, the constituents of these
Senators, to ask your Senator to send a letter to Senate Majority Leader
Joseph Bruno, reaffirming their support for Timothy's Law, maintaining
that they do not feel it is irresponsible, and calling on Senator Bruno
to bring Timothy's Law to the floor for a vote, as it is currently
written.  We know that the 34 co-sponsors of this bill know how
important it is to New York and its citizens.  Now they need your help
to make their point clear in their House of the Legislature.
 
Timothy's Law received yet more good news the week after the rally, on
March 22, when MHANYS brought approximately 150 people to Albany for its
annual Legislative Conference.  Numerous speakers took to the podium
that morning to call for passage of Timothy's Law.  Tom O'Clair once
again eloquently and courageously spoke on behalf of the legislation
named after his son.  Assemblyman Tonko, the bills chief sponsor stood
up to call for its passage, announcing that he will not rest until
Timothy's Law passes the New York State Senate.  
 
Republican Assemblymember Joel Miller, a dentist and small business
owner for 35 years, spoke about the negative impact that untreated
mental illness and chemical dependency can have on small employers,
declaring that small businesses in New York could not afford not to have
Timothy's Law pass.  Assemblyman Peter Rivera, Chair of the Assembly
Mental Helath Committee, rose to speak about the importance of this
legislation and once again ceonfer his support for it.  Senate Minority
Leader David Paterson declared his conference's support for Timothy's
Law, and used the occasion to confirm the rumor that his conference
would use March 22nd as an opportunity to attempt to bring their version
of mental health parity to the floor for a vote (they did so using a
politcal maneuver that was defeated along strictly partisan lines, as is
always the case with this particular action). 
 
However, the moment that certainly was most awe inspiring came when
Speaker of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver, approached the podium.  For it
is a rare day indeed when the Speaker of the Assembly takes time out
from his schedule to personally address 125 people gathered to work on
mental health issues.  Even more rare is when his message is one of
support for a bill that has already passed his house.
 
Typically in Albany, when the Senate or Assembly passes a bill, that
house believes its work to be concluded.  Sure , the sponsors of the
bill will continue to push for it, but leadership turns its focus to
other work as yet undone.  That is not the case with Timothy's Law.
Recognizing MHANYS unfailing commitment to the passage of Timothy's Law
as a complete measure, the Speaker of the Assembly chose our event to
state that Timothy's Law is a personal priority of his, and to near
deafening applause, he announced that he and the remainder of his
conference will not rest until Timothy's Law becomes law. 
 
These are truly exciting times in our push to ensure passage of
Timothy's Law.  We have more momentum than ever before, and as always
,it is solely becasue of you and your efforts in thecommunity.  Take
encouragement from the fact that you are making a difference, and keep
up the hard work.  Know that Timothy's Law is where it is because you
have fought so hard.  But we can not rest now.  We have the momentum,
and it is becoming more and more difficult for Senator Bruno to ignore
the will of his colleagues in the Senate, as well as the will of New
York's citizenry.  
 
Please, take a few moments and contact your Senator.  If you can,
schedule a meeting with him or her.  Be sure to keep it positive.  Let
them know that you know Senator Bruno wasn't talking about them, and you
would very much appreciate it if they would send the Majority Leader a
letter reaffirming their support for this bill, and asking him to bring
it to the floor for a vote.  Ask them to provide you with a copy of the
letter, so you can then follow up with the Majority Leader yourself.
 
Thank you so much everyone for all of your hard work on this important
issue.  Please take a moment to forward this message on to your friends,
to help the movement to pass Timothy's Law grow even further.  Talk
about Timothy's Law to your friends, families and coworkers.  Every time
you mention it, the movement grows larger.  If you have questions or
comments related to this e-mail, please do not reply to this e-mail.
Instead, send the message to  <mailto:bomalley at mhanys.org>
bomalley at mhanys.org.  
 

Bryan R. O'Malley 
Education Campaign Manager 
MHANYS 
194 Washington Avenue, Suite 415 
Albany, NY 12210 
(518) 434-0439, ext. 29 
(518) 427-8676 

Please visit www.mhanys.org/timothyslaw to find out more about ending
discrimination against those with mental illness and substance abuse
disorders, and to find out what you can do to help.

 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://kilakwa.net/pipermail/timothysteam_kilakwa.net/attachments/20040326/a34e71e4/attachment.html>