Lauren's Law Revisions

The Rockland Business Association gratefully acknowledges the revisions made by the New York State Senate to the legislation known as Lauren's Law. We particularly want to commend the State Assembly for it's input in getting the Senate to revise the bill to include points raised by the RBA.

In it's original form, S.3885 required applicants for driver's licenses and non-driver ID's to check "yes" or "not at this time" in response to a question on whether they wished to be organ donors. Failure to respond would preclude the processing of the application.

The RBA took exception to the fact that people were being denied the right to say "no." In a statement at the time the bill passed the Senate, RBA President/CEO Al Samuels noted, "While you may feel that the intent (of the bill) is noble, the bill denies people, who would choose not to participate, the right to that choice. By denying any citizen their rights, we deny all citizens. If this bill became law it would establish a precedent that could dangerously encroach upon our rights in much more egregious ways."

Upon learning that the Senate amended the bill to accommodate the RBA's issue, Samuels said he was gratified to learn that the system can still work. "The RBA never questioned the value of organ donations, " Samuels noted, "we just wanted to ensure that no one would be denied their right to free and full expression of their wishes."