S2280B

The New York State Senate passed Senate Print 2280B, an Executive Law amendment sponsored by Senator Webb designed to empower domestic violence victims with information, on a 56-0 vote Tuesday. The bill's passage came after the chamber rejected a proposed amendment that would have created a persistent domestic violence registry. Sen. Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick appealed Acting President Bailey's ruling that the amendment was nongermane, arguing it aligned with the bill's stated purpose of protecting domestic violence victims. She cited statistics showing that three-fifths of domestic violence offenders are rearrested within two years and that two-thirds of female intimate partner homicide victims were previously abused by their partners. The amendment, modeled on Tennessee legislation and similar to bills Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick and Sen. Mattera have introduced in New York, would have required individuals convicted of domestic violence offenses after a prior conviction to register on a public registry with safeguards for sensitive information. The appeal failed 18-0 on a show of hands vote, and the ruling of the chair was sustained. The bill was then moved to the noncontroversial calendar and passed unanimously.