NAC Advisory: Success in New York!

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NATURIST ACTION COMMITTEE
ADVISORY
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http://www.naturistaction.org
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Copyright 2007 by the Naturist Action Committee, which is responsible for its content. Permission is granted for the posting, forwarding or redistribution of this message, provided that it is reproduced in its entirety and without alteration.

DATE: June 16, 2007
SUBJECT: Success in New York! Legislation modified to protect naturists
TO: All naturists

Dear Naturist:

The Naturist Action Committee (NAC) announces a significant success in the New York legislature.

Amendatory language offered by NAC has been accepted by both the New York Assembly and the New York Senate as an important modification to legislation that had threatened the interests of naturists.

BACKGROUND

New York Assembly Bill 1174 and its companion, Senate Bill 224 were introduced in early January with the intent of amending the state's penal law, employment law and cultural affairs law, so that the employment of minors in sexually oriented business establishments would be prohibited.

As introduced, however, the two legislative measures were so broadly written that they would have prevented minors from working, performing or dancing at ANY location where people are nude, including all naturist parks and resorts in the state of New York.

This particular sort of New York legislation aimed at nudity and minors had its beginning seven years ago, when Assemblyman Tom Kirwan (R-Newburgh) learned that 16-year olds could legally perform nude at sexually oriented businesses that do not serve alcohol. In multiple previous sessions, Kirwan has put together legislation to establish restrictions, and he has enlisted Sen. Bill Larkin (R-New Windsor) to introduce Senate companion bills.

The Senate bills in past years (S 1188 in 2003/2004 and S 417 in 2005/2006) have been treated favorably, in part because they have been sponsored by a Republican in the Republican-controlled New York Senate. However, as a Republican in New York's Democrat-controlled Assembly, Kirwan has been unable to move his own Assembly bills (A 11733 in 2003/2004 and A 1686 in 2005/2006). NAC has carefully identified, analyzed, tracked and followed each of those pieces of legislation while they were active during previous years.

This year, Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther (D-Middletown) is the sponsor of Assembly Bill 1174. Once again, Sen. Bill Larkin has sponsored an identical companion (S 224). Both bills were introduced in the New York legislature in early January. Because Assemblywoman Gunther is a Democrat, it was clear that the legislation had a chance of passage this session. The Naturist Action Committee took action immediately.

WHAT HAS NAC BEEN DOING ABOUT THIS LEGISLATION?

Some threats are best dealt with behind the scenes, and these New York bills are good examples of that. In this instance, NAC chose not to call for the sort of grass roots action that can be so very effective in other situations.

Instead, NAC board member Morley Schloss went directly to the lawmakers sponsoring these bills. Working intensively with legislative staff over a period of months, Schloss identified the unintended consequences of the legislative language and discussed acceptable alternatives.

As a direct result of involvement by the Naturist Action Committee and the personal persistence of Morley Schloss, both bills have been modified. On April 5, 2007, NAC formally offered new language that tightened the focus of the proposed new laws, providing protection for naturist individuals, families and groups. Also protected by the revision are naturist and nudist facilities, as well as businesses that may be used occasionally for naturist activities.

Although the language of the Senate and Assembly versions were identical, the two houses of the New York State Legislature have distinct ways of rendering bills, and they prefer different formats for amending them. To make the process painless for lawmakers, NAC carefully formatted its changes in two different ways, sending an appropriately marked-up text to each legislative house.

Both the Assembly and the Senate have accepted the revised language, exactly as NAC submitted it. Both houses have incorporated that language into their respective current versions of the bill. Senate Bill 224, as amended, has been selected as the legislation to move forward in both houses.

WHAT IS NAC ASKING YOU TO DO?

This is an Advisory and an announcement of a specific success. The Naturist Action Committee is NOT asking you to take action at this time. Because lawmakers have accepted NAC's language, the threats from A 1174 and S 224 have been blunted. Please watch for NAC Action Alerts, Advisories and Updates on other topics of vital interest to naturists.

MORE INFORMATION

You can access additional information on the Web site of the Naturist Action Committee.

www.naturistaction.org

Select "Alerts, Advisories and Updates." Under Current Updates, you'll find the text of this NAC Advisory, along with links to complete texts of New York A 1174 and S 224 in their introduced and amended forms, as well as the text of NAC's proposed language and the text of New York Penal Law Section 235.20.

NAC's cover letters to legislative staff in the New York State Senate and Assembly are also included, and those offer an interesting insight into the way NAC works with lawmakers behind the scenes.

PLEASE HELP NAC HELP NATURISTS

As the nonprofit volunteer political adjunct to The Naturist Society, the Naturist Action Committee is an important first line of defense against threats to naturists and their interests. Many times, NAC identifies and deals with frightening legislation that others simply miss.

NAC stands up for private naturist and nudist resorts, parks and camps, just as it champions the responsible clothing-optional use of public lands.

NAC relies entirely on your voluntary support. Please donate generously with a check to

NAC
PO Box 132
Oshkosh, WI 54903

Or use your credit card to make a direct donation online through NAC's Web site:
www.naturistaction.org/donate/

Thank you once again for choosing to make a difference!

Naturally,

Bob Morton
Executive Director
Naturist Action Committee

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Naturist Action Committee (NAC)
- PO Box 132, Oshkosh, WI 54903
Executive Dir. Bob Morton - execdir@naturistaction.org
Board Member Morley Schloss - morleynaturist@hotmail.com
Online Rep. Dennis Kirkpatrick - naturist@sunclad.com
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