Governor's Speech at the bill-signing ceremony
Thank you all for being here this morning. And thank
you, particularly, to the parents who care so much about their children and
worked so hard to see this day come about.
I know this is emotional for you.
I hope it’s an important step in improving your families’ and your
children’s lives.
You know, we have to deal in government with the
crisis of the day, what happens today and what happens tomorrow. But everything we should be looking at doing
in government is not just about
today...it's about tomorrow, the next year, and the next generation. And that's why since we've taken
office...whether it’s been environmental issues or a commitment to turning
around the state’s economy...we’ve always looked to our children in the next
generation, thinking what type of state and what type of society will we leave
for them when we are no longer in public office?
I remember taking office the first day and looking
at what was then called the Division For Youth, and sitting with Commissioner
Johnson and looking and analyzing it and recognizing that our Division For
Youth in New York State was essentially a prison system. It didn’t have preventive services, it
didn't deal with those who may at some time in the future make the wrong
decisions. It was for those who had already run afoul of the law and in most
cases were in secure facilities. And what type of message was that...that the only thing we did for
youth was after they had broken the law and run afoul of the law, we would then
create a facility where they could be separated from the rest of society. So we looked to change that, and we’ve
looked to change it in so many ways that we created the new Office of Children
and Family Services; because when you think of children, the best service
provider is the family. And we’ve
worked hard to strengthen that family.
We've gone after deadbeat dads, and raised child support collections,
and made an emphasis on policies that made our families stronger.
And yet, we always have to look to see where the system doesn't work as well as it should and where we can make it stronger and better. And today we make it far stronger and far better. As the Commissioner indicated, there is a legal twilight zone for 16- and 17-year-olds in New York State at this present moment. You have loving and caring parents and guardians who want to supervise them, want to control them, want to teach them right from wrong. But we have children who simply are incorrigible, who won't listen to those decisions, who won't go to school, who won't follow the dictates of that caring parent. And yet, the parent has no legal recourse.
A long time ago, it was understood that that parent had to have the support of the law, the ability to go to Family Court and get a petition signed that would give the authority of the law to that parent’s desire to teach their child to take the right path. And yet today when you turn the age of sixteen you're not an adult, you're not mature enough to make those right life-forming decisions. And yet the parent has no legal authority to take responsibility to teach that child right from wrong.
That changes this morning. That changes this morning because of you and your advocacy, and
your pushing and working, and supporting, and roaming the halls of the Capitol,
and meeting your legislators. And I'm
sure you didn't have a whole lot of trouble finding your way here today, did
you, because you found your way here in the past. And it is really a tribute to you, a
tribute to your children, a tribute to your families, a tribute to the love
that you have, that you have taken that time and made that special effort to
see this day come about. Because of you
I will be signing into law, very shortly, legislation raising the PINS age to
the age of eighteen.
We had an incredible legislative session. We passed laws that were talked about literally for a generation. The cost of living adjustment for state workers was talked about for over 20 years...hate crime legislation was talked about for over 20 years...the environmental initiatives we signed into law today should have been done a generation ago. Well, for those of you who have worked so hard to change the PINS law, your wait is over. It becomes law when I sign it today.
And again, I have to thank you for your advocacy and
for the effort of your legislators who worked so hard to make this happen. In the Senate, Senator Mary Lou Rath worked so hard to sponsor this
legislation. Mary Lou, congratulations
to you and to your colleague, Owen Johnson, for working so hard...this is a
tribute to your hard work, and we
appreciate that. And in the Assembly,
it's a tribute to the extremely hard work of Assemblyman Steve Kaufman from the
Bronx. Steve and Jack...Jack McEneny
right here from the capital region...thank you
for being here, working to see this day come about as well. But I particularly want to thank the PINS
Reform and Family Advocacy Coalition...so many of you here today, who did make this case, who did roam the halls, who did importune your legislators. And Joy Hansen, thank you on behalf of the organization, on behalf of the people of this
state, thank you for what the PINS coalition has done.
We understand that when we think of our children and we think of our families, there is no single act that is going to make every family in this great state a caring, loving family. It requires so many things. It requires that parent who has the affection and love for his or her child. It requires a legal system that understands the importance of the family. It requires a state government that stands behind those parents and gives you the tools to do what is right for your children. Today we take that step. Today I sign the PINS reform bill into law.
Thank you, congratulations to all of you. And we know it's just the first step, another important step in making our families stronger, in giving our children the future they are entitled to here in New York. God bless you.
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After the other speakers were finished, Gov. Pataki concluded by saying “This is a day a lot of you thought would never happen. I will now sign the bill and it will become a law of the State of New York. Thank you all for what you have done.” He then walked over to give an emotional Dawn Balak a hug, shook a few hands, and then went over to the desk to sign the bill.