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Senate Dems reform of bail reform not popular in Assembly

Feb 13, 2020 12:31 am
Nick Reisman reports at New York State of Politics that some State Senate Democrats floated rolling back parts of the bail reform laws passed last year, but Democrats in the Assembly were not interested in the changes. Activists, rallying at the state Capitol Feb. 12 didn't like idea to reform the reforms. "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig," said Stanley Fritz of Citizen Action. Previously, only people with means could get out of jail before they were convicted of most crimes. But state legislators last year eliminated bail for all but major crimes. The Senate Democrats are floating an idea to allow judges to determine whether a person should remain in jail while facing charges. "This law's only been in effect for six weeks and I think in order to ascertain if any law is working, you need real data, real information, not cherry picked stories and senstaionalized events as to try to paint a picture of whether a law is working or not," Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.