Mental Health Association in New York State, Inc.
(Publication Archives)

Friday Fax from Albany

July 13, 2004
Dear Senator Bruno:

As I sat in the Senate gallery three weeks ago, listening to the debate on mental health parity and Timothy’s Law, several Senators noticed and mentioned Donna’s and my presence there that night. There are two things that stick out in my memory of that night. First, was looking down at Senator Schneiderman as he apologized for the Senate’s failure to pass Timothy’s Law. Then, as it became obvious Timothy’s Law was not going to pass, as I held my head in my hands, I listened to Senator Libous say, “No one knows how they feel. And no matter what we say on the floor, no matter what we try to do, it cannot heal and cannot take the place of their loss of their most precious son.”

Well, after watching the Senate vote down the bill named in memory of our son, Timothy, and pass a bill that falls far short of one worthy of bearing his name, all I could tell those who asked how I felt, was, “Outrage is a good word…” But what I really felt that Tuesday night was that the Senate’s rejection of the bill that has now become Timothy’s legacy, reopened the emotional wounds from his suicide more than three years ago. It was like we lost him all over again.

During the two years we have been fighting for this law, my family and I have asked the Legislature to do nothing more than level the playing field. Coverage for diseases like diabetes and cancer must be equal to coverage provided for mental health and chemical dependency – anything less is simply discrimination. The reality is, if Timothy had suffered from cancer instead of depression, there would have been no question as to whether or not his treatment would have been covered. He might very well have been with us today.

Toward the end of session, there were several rounds of negotiations between the Assembly and Senate. At one point, you stopped me in the halls of the Capitol to tell me, “We’re going to do it,” pointing to my Timothy’s Law pin, “We’re going to do Timothy’s Law!”

As negotiations progressed, the Assembly offered a compromise, modeled after a recent Senate tax credit bill, to address the concerns of many Senators regarding the impact Timothy’s Law would have on small businesses. But, those negotiations fell apart and we were eventually left empty-handed.

Donna and I watched in amazement as the 33 Republican Majority Senators who sponsor Timothy’s Law (S.5329) voted down an amendment that would have substituted Timothy’s Law for the watered down version of parity under consideration that night. Then, we were stunned to hear you outrightly reject the $50 million tax credit compromise offered by the Assembly, a proposal modeled after the Senate’s $1 billion tax credit bill that passed the week before!

Instead, the Senate passed one of the weakest parity bills in the nation. S.7296-A completely excludes those with chemical dependency needs, exempts all employees who work for small employers, only covers a few diagnoses, and only covers children after they become very seriously mentally ill, nearly suicidal.

I couldn’t believe when I heard you claim that the bill, which excludes nearly 40% of those who would be covered under Timothy’s Law through the small business employer exemption alone, would cover 75-80% of people who need coverage! As Assemblyman Joel Miller, a dentist and small business owner, has explained, “Small businesses really can’t afford to not provide this coverage.” When employees are absent, attending to the mental health needs of themselves or their family, there is no one to fill in for that person at work. You don’t have to look further than my own experience to see the effect of untreated mental illness on an employer. I lost over 800 hours of work, at one of my two jobs, trying to get Timmy the mental health services he needed.

S.7296-A also excludes most mental illnesses, including PTSD, but includes some things that are not even diagnoses, like paranoia. Victims of sexual predators and those affected by the events of September 11th, or another terrorist attack, God forbid, wouldn’t be covered under the Senate bill.

And to correct Senator Farley’s statement on the floor that, “Timothy O'Clair would have been covered under this bill,” only until just before his suicide would he have received any parity-based coverage.

This is why I was quoted as saying that S.7296-A was, “a far cry from Timothy’s Law,” when you and Senator Libous introduced it earlier in June. Anti-discrimination legislation that continues discrimination based upon diagnosis or employer size should be illegal, period.

The Senate and Assembly have now left Albany, negotiations have ceased, and the future of Timothy’s Law remains uncertain, at best. However, as you will be returning to Albany on July 20th, there is an opportunity to get something done on Timothy’s Law.

The Senate must act to right the wrong that millions of New Yorkers have been subjected to, due to discriminatory insurance coverage for mental health and chemical dependency needs. Negotiations must continue and a comprehensive parity law that is worthy of bearing Timothy’s name must be enacted.

I urge you to make passage of Timothy’s Law a priority before leaving Albany again.

Only then will our work in Timothy’s memory be complete.

Very truly yours,

Tom O’Clair

In the News: Two stories are included in this week’s Friday Fax.

The first is an editorial by the Troy Record’s James Franco detailing the way the Senate and Assembly are completely controlled by Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno and Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver. At the end of the article, Franco uses Senator Bruno’s refusal to bring Timothy’s Law to the floor of the Senate for a vote as an example of Albany’s dysfunctional nature.

Second is an article that discusses the minimum wage legislation that passed both houses of the Legislature this week and the tactics that were employed to achieve that.

Too much boils down to three men in a room. By James V. Franco
Troy Record, July 22, 2004

Either the Legislature has no luck or past practice has come to roost. My guess is the latter.

During a week where the Capitol saw the most activity since the Legislature overrode 119 of Gov. George Pataki's vetoes last year, a scathing report from the respected Brennan Institute for Justice of the New York University of Law dubbed the New York State Legislature the most dysfunctional in the nation.

I do not think it takes an 86-page color glossy to say it. People have been saying it for years, but it is an impressive looking document.

In part, the report says legislative leaders have way too much control while rank-and-file members and the public have no real say in what goes on.

Big surprise there. And an even bigger surprise is that the legislative leaders, who enjoy controlling what goes on, assailed the report.

"I think it is nonsense. Total nonsense," said state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, beating his chest. "The people that do these things are usually reading books, studying, and doing research. They don't live life."

"Nothing happens in the Assembly in Albany without input from the rank-and- file," echoed Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

The way it works is this: Even if there is an independent thinker who wants to run for office, like Albany County Comptroller Mike Conners, there is no way the candidate can win outside of independent wealth and without the support of the state party proper.

The successful candidate thereby is beholden to the party.

The report mentions Assemblyman Pat Casale, R-Troy, who was stripped of his $9,000 lulu after voting against his caucus last year in the override fun and after receiving more than $100,000 from the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee to hold onto his seat. He was also not invited to a cookout at the mansion by Pataki.

That is the kind of power leaders have over the rank-and-file. Forget the hot dogs; $9,000 is a lot of money. You have to give Casale credit for rocking the boat.

It does seem Silver runs the Assembly with a tighter fist than the Senate. Silver fought off a coup by Assemblyman Michael Bragman, D-Syracuse, but Bruno fought off a shot aT his leadership by Pataki a few years back.

Assemblyman Roy McDonald, R-Wilton, a member of the minority, a former hands-on chairman of the Saratoga Board of Supervisors, however, is noticeably frustrated by how the Assembly is run.

"If someone asked me to vote on legislation to eliminate the Assembly, I would vote yes," he said.

Minority parties, the Republicans in the Assembly and Democrats in the Senate, have even less say than those members of the majority and legislation proposed by the minority is rarely even brought to the floor to a vote.

"I respect a person's right to vote. Some you win and some you lose, but the game here is don't even vote," McDonald said.

One would think, with such a diverse state as New York, some bills would be brought to the floor and shot down.

But the Brennan Institute found that from 1997 through 2001, the Senate voted on 7,109 bills and the Assembly 4,365. Not one was voted down.

"In other words, the speaker and majority leader are able to prevent any bill from reaching the floors of their respective chambers without the certainty of passage, and presumably, without their support," wrote the study's author, Jeremy M. Creelan.

Bruno says democracy is a government by representation, and the people elected representatives who elected him leader. Silver says he gets input from the rank-and-file on a consistent basis.

Then why doesn't Bruno bring Timothy's Law, which passed the Assembly 139-11, to the floor for a vote? There were enough Republican Senators signed on as co-sponsors and with the presumed Democrats in the minority voting in favor, it would have passed. But, he brought a variation of the law to the floor which, when it passed, meant nothing.

When it comes down to it, it all boils down to three men in a room, regardless of what the leaders think and say.

James V. Franco is the Capitol Bureau reporter.

Albany Leaders Agree to Raise Minimum Wage. By Al Baker
The New York Times, July 21, 2004

In one of their few achievements in Albany this year, the state's two top legislators agreed on Tuesday to gradually raise the minimum wage in New York State by $2 - to $7.15 from $5.15 an hour - by January 2007.

The proposal was expected to be introduced late Tuesday, but it was unclear whether a vote on it would occur this week or when lawmakers return again to Albany, on Aug. 2.

Proponents of the higher wage said that if Gov. George E. Pataki signs the measure into law, it would put more disposable income into the pockets of hundreds of thousands of the state's lowest-paid workers, help lift families out of poverty and boost New York's overall economy.

The governor said he was awaiting details of the deal.

The measure being crafted would raise New York's minimum wage for the first time in more than four years, allowing the state to join 12 others, including Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont, in requiring that workers be paid more than the federal government's hourly minimum of $5.15.

"We're thrilled that at long last the State Senate is joining the State Assembly in passing minimum-wage legislation which will raise the wages of hundreds of thousands of low-wage workers," said Robert Master, the co-chairman of the Working Families Party, which for six years has promoted the issue in Albany.

The logjam was broken after the Senate majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno, a Republican, dropped opposition to an Assembly proposal to raise the minimum. He did so in an election year in which his party was threatened with the loss of two Senate seats in New York City, where raising the wage is a popular position. Mr. Bruno bucked the wishes of the state's Conservative Party chairman in backing the increase.

The breakthrough came the day lawmakers returned to Albany for three days in the midst of a summer break that began on June 23.

At separate news conferences, and in a joint statement, Sheldon Silver, the speaker of the Assembly, and Mr. Bruno dribbled out details of the deal.

Mr. Silver noted that the $7.15 figure fell between two bills the Democrat-led Assembly had passed this year, one to raise the minimum to $7.10 an hour by 2006, the other to $7.25. The plan would raise the state's current $5.15-an-hour minimum to $6 an hour on Jan. 1, 2005; $6.75 on Jan. 1, 2006; and $7.15 on Jan. 1, 2007.

Lawmakers also want to raise the hourly pay for the lowest wage earners, restaurant and bar employees who earn tips, to $4.60 from $3.30, an increase that would be fully effective by Jan. 1, 2007.

Mr. Bruno, who often says that jobs give people dignity, said the increases would help the working poor.

"This is great news for working families across the state,'' Mr. Silver, a Democrat, said at news conference outside his office in the Capitol. "I want to commend Senator Bruno, and all of our colleagues in the Senate, for joining us in this agreement that we have been fighting for, now, for several years."

Senator Michael A. L. Balboni, a Republican from Long Island, said the compromises on the figure and the time it will take to reach the maximum level made common sense.

"There are a lot of, quote, working poor, that need this help,'' said Mr. Balboni, who said the timing of the vote in the Senate was still being worked out. Under the existing minimum, full-time workers earn $10,712 a year, which is below the federal poverty level.

For his part, Governor Pataki reacted to the news of the agreement with a view he has expressed for months: He supports an increase but would prefer that the federal government raise it nationwide to avoid putting New York businesses at a disadvantage compared with neighboring states, including New Jersey and Pennsylvania, that have not moved beyond the $5.15 rate.

"I haven't seen the bill,'' he said when asked about the deal. "If in fact they do pass one, I'll look at it.''

Mr. Pataki said the Legislature had not yet asked him for a message of necessity, which would enable lawmakers to move for a speedy vote on the issue without letting the legislation age for three days, as required by the state's Constitution.

Opponents of the increase say it will force small businesses to charge consumers more and to pay additional Social Security, unemployment and Medicare taxes. Robert Ward of the Business Council of New York, a lobbying group, said the increase could actually hurt low-wage workers by endangering their eligibility for earned income tax credits.

In an e-mail message, Mr. Ward wrote that "a higher statutory wage will result in loss of existing E.I.T.C. benefits, and in many cases loss of food stamp and other benefits as well.''

Senator Eric T. Schneiderman, a Democrat from Manhattan, said political pressure had ultimately forced Senator Bruno to follow the Assembly on the issue.

"If they think they're going to lose vulnerable Republican members on an issue, they're prepared to move to the left,'' he said. "The conservatives who dominate in the Senate didn't raise taxes, pass a civil rights law for gay people and raise the minimum wage because they changed their ideology. They know our candidates are going to campaign on those issues if they don't move."