Murphy passes ‘Enough is Enough’ law to combat sexual assault on college campuses
ALBANY, NY – Yesterday the New York State Senate passed landmark legislation, advocated by Senator Terrence Murphy, to fight against sexual violence on college campuses by creating a uniform definition for affirmative consent. Supporters of the bill are applauding what they say is its comprehensive approach to help make every college and university campus throughout New York State more safe and secure.
“As a father of three kids I firmly believe we must take every precaution to protect our children from sexual violence and abuse,” Senator Terrence Murphy said. “Earlier this year we passed milestone legislation to protect our children from sexual predators and yesterday’s legislation aims to ensure our children at college are equally protected. I applaud the author, Senator Ken LaValle, for his commitment and continued work to ensure this important piece of legislation was passed.”
Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan said, “Keeping our students safe is essential, and this bill succeeds in combating and rooting out sexual assualt so campuses remain safe learning environments. I thank Senator Ken LaValle for his work developing a comprehensive plan to protect all students, help victims, and provide resources that will enable colleges and universities to put an end to sexual violence on campus.”
In 2014, the Senate Higher Education Committee convened a roundtable of advocates, legislators, college and university officials, and security personnel to examine sexual violence on college campuses. In October, the committee released a report, Sexual Violence on College Campuses; A New York State Perspective, that reviewed research, state and federal laws, and best practices and made recommendations for state legislative action, many of which are included in the bill passed today.
The Senators said the legislation was developed in concert with victim’s rights advocates, law enforcement professionals, legal experts and higher education professionals. The law would help prevent sexual assaults and provide more support to victims by improving the ability of educational institutions to appropriately respond if a crime occurs.
The bill also provides $10 million in state funding to help implement these new measures by creating a new Sexual Assault Victims Unit within the Division of State Police ($4.5 million); supporting prevention, education and victim services provided on campuses by rape crisis centers ($4.5 million); and by supporting on-campus training, among other related expenses ($1 million).
“Earlier this year, Pace University students, faculty and staff worked collaboratively to promote awareness about sexual assault, enhance the safety of its campus community and provide critical services and support to those in need. These efforts included development of an updated campus-wide sexual assault policy; agreement on a revised definition of consent; launch of a sexual assault resources website; and creation of a Guide to Options, Resources, and Support,” said Lisa Bardill Moscaritolo, associate vice president and dean for students, Westchester. “Pace University is proud to be among the many private, not-for-profit colleges and universities that worked with Senator Murphy, the Executive Chamber, and State Senate and Assembly leadership in developing legislation to best protect students and promote safe campuses across the state. Campus safety is everyone’s concern and we remain fully committed to educating our faculty, students and staff about this important issue.”
Other provisions of the bill include:
- A statewide, uniform definition of affirmative consent to sexual activity, defined as “a knowing, voluntary and mutual decision among all participants to engage in sexual activity”;
- Amnesty for alcohol and/or drug use to encourage bystanders to report sexual assaults, domestic violence, dating violence or stalking without the risk of being charged with an alcohol or drug use violation of the institution’s code of conduct;
- A Student’s Bill of Rights, distributed annually to campus community, that includes the opportunity to report a sexual assault retaliation, and to access services and resources; Requirements for institutions to notify students about the rights and resources available to them and how the institution will respond to reports of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking;
- Options for confidential disclosure by requiring institutions to utilize plain language to notify students about the laws surrounding confidentiality and privacy, to list confidential and private resources that students can reach out to, and to provide technical information about how institutions will respond to requests for confidentiality. The bill allows privacy in legal challenges to conduct findings, absent a waiver or court determination;
- Year-round, ongoing campaigns to be developed and implemented by institutions about sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking education and prevention. The bill also directs institutions to conduct annual surveys to assess the campus climate and disclose the results without any personally identifying information; and
- Reporting of aggregate data to the State Education Department: Requires institutions to annually publish reports of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking or sexual assault, including the total number of reports received, open and closed investigations, and penalties imposed on perpetrators.
“The unfortunate reality is that we live in dangerous times,” Senator Murphy said. “New York State has a responsibility to provide the necessary resources to combat and educate people of these heinous acts which can have a long term devastating impact on young lives.”
The bill passed the Assembly last night and now awaits the Governor’s approval.
ALBANY, NY – The State Senate today approved new education reform measures Senator Terrence Murphy says are designed to empower parents and teachers, restore local control, and address the overemphasis on standardized testing.
“The reform measures passed today require a comprehensive review, with stakeholders, of the effectiveness and appropriateness of Common Core learning standards,” Murphy said. “After voting to deliver a $1.4 billion aid increase in school and on top of voting to eliminate the Gap Elimination Adjustment scheme, these common-sense changes approved today puts our kids first.”
Following a $1.4 billion school aid increase that was the centerpiece of the 2015-6 state budget, Murphy voted in favor of the plan to put in place what he calls a simpler, fairer Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) system that will improve outcomes for parents, teachers and kids, while easing the anxiety that now exists in classrooms across this state.
The legislation, Senate Bill S5954, directs the State Education Department (SED) to release test questions and the corresponding correct answers to teachers by June 1st of the same school year. Doing so will encourage greater transparency and accountability, and ensure that the standardized tests are a learning tool, not just a data collection device, Murphy claimed.
The bill also enacts measures to ensure that state exams in grades 3-8 are grade-appropriate and time-appropriate while providing funding that will end the need for stand alone field tests of state ELA and math assessments.
This legislation also requires the State Education Department (SED) to consider student characteristics, such as English language learners, students with disabilities, students in poverty and a student’s prior academic history, as factors in the calculation of a teacher’s student growth scores.
“17 out of the 19 standardized tests that New York students, like my three public school children, have to take are mandated by the Federal government,” Murphy said. “In addition, the disastrous roll-out and implementation of the Common Core standards is a clear sign that a top-down federal interference does not work. After successfully blocking the Governor’s recent efforts to further increase our reliance on testing, I have acted today in an effort to return decision making to the local level.”
Murphy passes bill to protect businesses from job-killing regulations
ALBANY, NY – The New York State Senate today passed legislation (S4319), sponsored by Senator Terrence Murphy, to protect businesses from over-zealous state regulations that could hurt the continued growth of the economy. The bill would require the state to conduct a more thorough examination of the impact proposed regulations may have on jobs and employment opportunities, Murphy noted.
“When I came to Albany I did so to give everyone the opportunity to succeed. New York continues to lag behind other states when it comes to job creation, and the passage of today’s bill is a significant step in the right direction by having our state agencies evaluate how any future regulation or rule would impact job creation,” Murphy said. “If we are serious about giving everyone an opportunity to succeed, we must hold accountable the detrimental overreach of government, which has only killed jobs and stifled economic growth.”
The legislation seeks to ensure that the potential impacts of rules and regulations developed for businesses by state agencies are fully examined. Currently, the State Administrative Procedure Act (SAPA) only requires agencies to analyze whether a proposed rule will affect jobs and issue a job impact statement. This current approach does not fully consider many of the potentially critical factors that would negatively affect business performance or result in job losses, Murphy said.
The legislation passed today would improve the evaluations performed by the state when assessing the potential impact regulations may have on jobs and employment opportunities by requiring:
- The Commissioners of Labor and Economic Development to review any statement issued by a state agency that finds that a proposed regulation may have a substantial and adverse impact on jobs;
- Agencies to perform additional analysis if they are unable to determine the potential impact of a proposed regulation, and would prevent the state from enacting the regulation until they have performed more analysis;
- Agencies to make methodology, data, and resources available for public review; and Job impact reports to include whether or not a significant change in employment is necessary.
It would also include whether a new regulation will have an affect on average wage levels, hours, and/or duration of employment, as well as other factors that could represent a substantial adverse impact on workers’ incomes and economic security. The Senate also passed a bill (S.5353A) sponsored by Senator Murphy that would promote mandate relief and flexibility for local governments by tailoring regulatory requirements to meet the specific needs and capabilities of municipalities. These improvements to the regulatory process would promote efficiency and save money for local governments.
In addition, Senator Murphy championed three additional bills yesterday through the Senate in an effort to ease the regulatory burden throughout New York. S.4034 provides the Administrative Regulations Review Commission, which Senator Murphy chairs, the ability to object to an agency rule that may be deemed unreasonable, arbitrary or otherwise beyond the authority delegated to the agency.
Murphy’s other bills included extending the period of time for comment regarding a proposed rule in the state register from 45 days to 60 (S.5418). This will allow greater transparency and ensure businesses have proper time to voice concerns. Lastly, S.43238 would add a formal negotiated rule making to SAPA which would allow small business owners and other stakeholders being affected by a regulation to meet and build a consensus on possible terms of a proposed rule.
All four pieces of legislation have passed the Senate and have been sent to the Assembly for approval.
