Bishops' Public Policy Agenda
The following are the legislative priorities of the
Catholic Bishops of New York State for the current year:
Pass the Unborn Victims of Violence Act The United States
Government has enacted Stacy and Conner's Law. In effect, it recognizes the
assault on a pregnant woman as an assault on her unborn child. Thus, if the
child is killed during the commission of a crime against a pregnant woman, the
child is also recognized as a victim. This law applies only to the commission
of a crime on Federal property. The New York State Legislature is currently
debating this bill and considering adopting this law, making it a crime in New
York State to harm a pregnant woman and her child.
Increased Access to Health Insurance for the Uninsured The
objective of this issue is to expand outreach to enroll eligible individuals
in programs that provide free or low-cost health care coverage and to simplify
enrollment and recertification processes for these programs.
Parental Choice in Education The objectives of this issue are:
1. To enact a program of scholarships, tax credits/vouchers to enable all
parents to select the most appropriate schools for their children, including
religiously affiliated schools and 2. To provide religious and private schools
with aid for remedial instruction (AIS), aid for computer hardware and
additional transportation services to enable all children to meet the Regents'
high academic standards.
Reforming New York State's Drug Sentencing Laws The objective of
this issue is to enact reform of New York's Rockefeller-era drug sentencing
laws, which place severe mandatory minimum sentencing requirements on
nonviolent drug offenders who would be better served by drug
treatment.
Protecting Faith-based Providers From Threats to Religious
Freedom The objective of this issue is to secure comprehensive
protection for faith-based service providers, employers and insurers in any
health mandates for morally offensive procedures, such as contraception,
abortion or assisted reproductive technologies.
Maintain the Public/Private Partnership in Support of the Poor and
Vulnerable The objective of this issue is to ensure that the state
renews its commitment to the partnership between government and not-for-profit
human service providers.
Meeting the Unique Needs of Rural New Yorkers The objective of
this issue is to meet the unique transportation, housing and economic
development needs of New Yorkers living in rural areas.
The NYS
Catholic Conference monitors any proposed legislation in either the NYS Assembly
or Senate to ensure that they are consistent with the Bishops' Legislative
Agenda. When an issue arises that is contrary to the mission of the Church, we
as faithful citizens are required to express our concern to our legislators. We
can do this most efficiently by joining the NYS Catholic Advocacy Network at www.nyscatholic.org
