In response to last week’s shooting at a National Guard recruiting center in Tennessee, Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) is introducing new legislation that would improve security at these facilities in New York State. The bill will be co-sponsored by state Senator Rob Ortt.

“There is nothing more important than securing public safety – especially the safety of the brave men and women who defend our nation and communities in the National Guard, military and emergency responders. We cannot allow what happened in Tennessee to be repeated here in New York, and I am doing everything I can to ensure that those who protect us are safe here at home,” said Hawley, who is the Ranking Minority Member of the Assembly Veterans’ Affairs Committee and recently hosted the committee’s chairman on a tour of facilities in Western New York.

The new legislation will establish a workgroup to examine and make recommendations on ways safety can be improved at National Guard recruitment centers in our state. The committee will have 13 members, including representatives from the state Division of Military Affairs, Commission on Homeland Security and Emergency Services, State Police, legislative committee chairs, and four members appointed by the governor, and two members appointed by each of the Assembly Speaker and Temporary President of the Senate.

Upon enactment of the legislation, the workgroup would have until December 1, 2016 to submit their first periodic report to the state Division of Military and Naval Affairs, which would be empowered to implement any approved recommendations of the group.