LONG ISLAND GOP SENATE CANDIDATES: REPEAL BAIL REFORM!

Senate bill to address discovery timeline is a weak substitute for total bail reform repeal

Long Island State Senate candidates Ed Smyth, Alexis Weik, and Nick LaLota today blasted two new bills introduced by Sen. James Gaughran (S.7122 & S.6928) as a half-hearted attempt to correct two of the glaring problems created by the bail and discovery law he championed last year.

The Democrat’s bills would give all local governments the option to establish administrative tribunals for the enforcement of code and ordinance violations in order to bypass the new stringent discovery timeline. These bills were introduced because the discovery timeline was drastically shortened at the beginning of this year thanks to discovery changes in last year's budget championed by the Democratic Legislature. The Suffolk candidates argue that instead of making minor changes to the law that only addresses a hyper-specific issues, the Legislature should take up a full repeal of the ill-conceived, failing bail and discovery reform laws that have made our communities less safe.

“The Band-Aid approach like Sen. Gaughran’s bills is one of the reasons I’m running against him for State Senate,” said Ed Smyth, Gaughran’s Republican opponent in the November election. “He doesn’t get it.  This bail reform law has been a fiasco from day one.  It needs to be fully repealed and completely re-written with common sense reforms.  It is plain to see why it was buried in the budget last year: Had the Democrats gotten any input from elected judges, district attorneys, defense attorneys, police officials, or local officials, they would have faced a hurricane of opposition from the people who actually work in the criminal justice system.  Long Islanders don’t want tweaks or modifications; they want and need a full repeal of bail and discovery ‘reform.’ Unlike Sen. Gaughran, I’m committed to making that a reality.”

“At a time when hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers are calling for a repeal of bail reform, and just weeks before the state budget vote, all of our energy should be focused on full repeal and not on making minute changes that barely scratch the surface of addressing the problems Democrats have created,” said Assemblyman Palumbo, who is running for the 1st Senate District. “Unlike Senate Democrats, I voted against the terrible bail and discovery ‘reform’ laws.  I support and co-sponsor legislation to repeal it, and will continue to fight for exactly that.”

“Suffolk County families deserve more from their state legislators than the weak patch-ups being proposed today,” said 3rd Senate District candidate Alexis Weik. “We’ve made it clear that anything less than a full repeal of bail and discovery reform is unacceptable. As the next Senator in the Third District, I will stand with law-abiding Long Islanders and join my colleagues in supporting a repeal of bail and discovery reform.”

“Now is not the time for half-measures. The data shows crime is up, Long Island neighborhoods are less safe, and our men and women in uniform are facing new dangers all thanks to the disastrous bail and discovery reform law passed by Senate Democrats last year,” said Nick LaLota, who is running for the 8th Senate District. “As State Senator, I will vote to fully repeal the bail and discovery law, which is something that my opponent refuses to do, and I will work closely with law enforcement, judges, District Attorneys and community stakeholders to enact real reforms which make public safety a top priority.”