(left to right: Diana Reyes, Angel Reyes, Assemblymember Mark Weprin, and Monique Dixon, mother of VaSean Phillip Alleyne)

VaSean’s Law is named for eleven year old VaSean Phillip Alleyne of Queens, who was killed in an accident last year by a motorist who was charged with drunk driving. VaSean’s mother visited Albany to push for the change in law, as did Angel Reyes and his mother, Diana Reyes. Angel was injured in the same accident as VaSean.

More than one-third of New York’s nearly 1,500 traffic deaths in 2003 involved alcohol-impaired drivers, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Nationally in 2002, 17,419 people died in alcohol-related traffic accidents, an average of one death every thirty minutes.

“Drivers who get behind the wheel drunk or impaired by drugs show a callous disregard for human life,” Assemblymember Weprin said. “This legislation gives law enforcement and prosecutors another tool to combat drunk driving and punish dangerous drivers.”

In addition to VaSean’s Law, New York State enacted a measure to toughen the penalties for hit-and-run drivers. It raises the maximum penalty from four years to seven years when a death occurs in a hit-and-run. The penalty for a first offense of leaving the scene of an accident in which a personal injury occurs becomes a class A misdemeanor, which means up to a year in jail. A subsequent offense increases to a class E felony, which can result in up to four years in prison.

For Legislative Disabilities Awareness Day, Assemblymember Weprin announced legislation to provide additional help for people with disabilities.

“This is an opportunity to bring attention to the needs and contributions of people with disabilities, and to advance issues that still need to be addressed. People with disabilities need some accommodation in order to utilize services that so many of us take for granted,” Weprin noted.

The legislation addresses obstacles faced by people with disabilities by:

• requiring basic telecommunication services for contacting police, fire and medical assistance to be accessible to all people who are visually, hearing, or severely speech impaired

• requiring ATMs to use both audio and visual messages, providing access to more customers

• making ballots available in Braille and large print to facilitate voting for visually impaired persons

• designating polling places on a public transportation route to help those without access to a vehicle to vote

• providing interpreters or assistive listening devices at public hearings and meetings so that the hearing impaired can fully participate in government hearings

NEW LAW INCREASES SECURITY

A law requiring individuals to undergo federal criminal background checks before becoming security guards for New York companies is now in effect. The law, which Assemblymember Mark Weprin voted for, will help to better protect New York families from terrorism.

“We depend on security guards to keep everyone safe in our airports, public buildings, nuclear facilities, and other places that terrorists may target,” Weprin said. This law protects New Yorkers by barring federal criminals from taking security enforcement jobs in our communities.

Under the law, security guard applicants will be fingerprinted to determine if they have committed crimes outside of New York State. The fingerprints will be sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, where the applicant’s information will be screened before he or she is hired. Previously, security guard applicants were only checked for criminal records in New York State.

Assemblymember Mark Weprin is pushing for legislation to expand benefits for veterans and their families. Known as Patriot Plan III, it expands laws passed in 2003 and 2004 to take care of New Yorkers who serve in the Armed Forces.

The plan’s benefit enhancements include ensuring survivors of eligible public employees who die while on active duty in the Armed Forces receive the same death benefits and health insurance as survivors of all others who die while working as public employees. In addition, the plan calls for reimbursing premium payments sufficient to assume the costs for $250,000 worth of Service Member’s General Life Insurance Program for members of the New York State organized militia during periods of active service.

Last year’s Patriot Plan II increased pay for the National Guard; provided a tax exemption on National Guard pay for persons deployed in New York for any emergency; allowed government retirees to be rehired to fill in for those mobilized by the National Guard without affecting their pension; provided tuition benefits for veterans of the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan; and extended the definition of children who can receive benefits to include adopted children, stepchildren, and children for whom a service member was a legal guardian.

In 2003, Patriot Plan I provided an advocate for veterans and their families at the Division of Military and Naval Affairs; lowered telephone rates and reserved library computers for communication between veterans and their families; provided assistance with funeral costs for those killed in active duty; and assisted veterans with workplace issues such as transferring military training and experience to civilian jobs or extending certification deadlines for veterans on active duty.

Legislation Closes State Ethics Loophole

Assemblymember Mark Weprin voted in support of legislation closing a loophole that allows state and legislative employees to escape an ethics investigation by simply leaving their jobs.

There have been about fifty ethics cases in the last decade that could not be investigated by the State Ethics Commission because the people in question exploited a loophole by leaving their respective posts. It provided a convenient way for them to escape scrutiny. This legislation closes that loophole and improves the efficacy of the State Ethics Commission as well as that of the Legislative Ethics Committee. Assemblymember Weprin is a former Chair of the Assembly Ethics and Guidance Committee.

The legislation would expand the jurisdiction of the State Ethics Commission and the Legislative Ethics Committee to include former state officers and employees, former candidates for statewide and legislative elected offices, and former political party chairs.

“We need more accountability in Albany and this legislation is a step toward that,” Weprin said. “I strongly urge Governor Pataki to follow the Legislature’s lead and make this bill law.”

The legislators of the New York State Chapter of the National Association of Jewish Legislators (NAJL) have chosen Mark Weprin as their new president. NAJL is a thirty year old not-for-profit organization of Jewish state elected officials. It provides information, networking, seminars, and other services to legislators from across the country. The New York State Chapter, with thirty-three members, was formerly led by retired State Senator Seymour Lachman.

(left to right: Assemblymember Mark Weprin, Assemblymember Joseph Saladino, Jeffrey Wice, Rabbi Moshe Bomser, and Rabbi Matthew Cutler)

This year, Assemblymember Mark Weprin sponsored his second annual “Winter Fitness Challenge” for local children. The goal of the program is to introduce creative incentives to promote physical fitness and a healthier lifestyle for students throughout New York State. Weprin wants to encourage youngsters to participate in more physical activity, adhere to a sensible diet and develop an improved sense of wellness.

The Fitness Challenge yielded a fabulous response from students who tracked their exercise during the winter months. Those students who sent in their forms to Assemblymember Weprin were entered in a drawing to win tickets to a New York Mets game this summer.

Two hundred lucky students and parents joined Weprin at Shea Stadium for an exciting evening. They had the opportunity to stand on the field during the singing of the national anthem and receive public recognition of their commitment to fitness.

CLEANING UP THE EARTH

With Mark Weprin’s support, the Assembly passed a package of bills to protect New York’s air, soil, and water. The package contains several measures to reduce air pollution by:

• prohibiting the open burning of solid waste

• reducing major electric generating facilities’ carbon dioxide emissions to prevent global warming

• establishing a mercury emission reduction program to decrease current mercury emissions from power plants and incinerators

• addressing public health issues when a facility repeatedly exceeds air emission limits

By reducing airborne irritants, these measures should fight public health risks such as asthma, bronchitis, and the serious impairment of the human nervous system.

Honoring Commitment To Education

Assemblymember Mark Weprin joined Senator Frank Padavan in honoring Gail Cohen and David Pinzon, outgoing presidents of District 26’s Community Education Council. Weprin presented New York State Assembly citations to Gail and David, who both invested countless hours working to ensure that our local schools continue to offer top quality education.

(left to right: Senator Frank Padavan, Gail Cohen, David Pinzon, and Assemblymember Mark Weprin)

PROTECTING COLLEGE STUDENTS FROM CREDIT CARD DEBT

A law to protect college students from the financial ruin that often results from overaggressive credit card marketing took effect July 1. Upon graduation, many college students have to begin paying off student loans, which alone are a financial burden. Heavy credit card debt on top of that can be a financial nightmare for young people. This law will help college students think twice about spending money that they do not have.

Credit card companies are aggressively targeting college students and the results have been less than positive. A recently published report by Claritas Incorporated found that the average balance due on a college student’s credit card has gone up 134 percent – from $900 in 1990 to $2,100 in 1995. As a result of high credit card balances, students can be forced to file for bankruptcy. Some colleges have contributed to the problem by accepting a percentage of money in exchange for helping companies merchandise credit cards.

PIGGLE WIGGLE FOR PRESIDENT

SIKHS RECOGNIZED IN ALBANY

WALKING FOR HEALTH

Friends of Cunningham Park, a group dedicated to the improvement and maintenance of Cunningham Park, hosted a Walk for Health in order to draw attention to the Trails Restoration Project and promote physical fitness. With help from the National Park Service’s Rivers and Trails Program, the group has renovated the trails, park benches, signs, and gravel grading. The trails in the southeast corner of Cunningham Park allow visitors to experience a completely natural piece of land; Friends of Cunningham Park works to preserve that pristine parkland.

(left to right: Joanne Dittersdorf, Department of the Interior; Bob Ward, New York New Jersey Trail Conference; Queens Borough Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation; Founding Chair Martha Taylor, Friends of Cunningham Park; Assemblymem-ber Mark Weprin; President Marc Haken, Friends of Cunningham Park; District Manager Diane Cohen, Community Board 8)

1. Do you support President Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security?

   Yes

   No

   Unsure

   
   

2. New York State’s death penalty law was struck down by the courts because of a flaw in its implementation. (Life without parole remains in effect as a sentencing option.) Many states across the nation are questioning the appropriateness of the death penalty due to increased awareness of cases where defendants were wrongly convicted and later exonerated. Do you believe New York State should reinstate the death penalty?

   Yes

   No

   Unsure

   
   

3. In your opinion, what is the biggest issue currently facing our neighborhood?

   schools	crime	overdevelopment	traffic	taxes
   other

   
   

4. How do you get to work?

   car	local bus	express bus	subway	railroad
   walk	bicycle	motorcycle	other