​Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) is joining his colleagues in the Assembly Minority in calling for the passage of a legislative package known as the “Restore Order” initiative, which would restore elements of judicial discretion eliminated by the “bail reform” law passed in 2019 by the Assembly Majority (A.5265). The package would also increase the penalties for particularly hateful and violent crimes, such as shooting into a crowd (A.4259), among other measures.

These bills were drafted in response to a widespread spike in violent crime that has persisted for months throughout the state, which Hawley and others attribute to limitations placed on the ability of local judges to exercise their judicial discretion by previously passed “bail reform” laws.

“We elect our judges for a reason, and it’s because they know us and they know the communities we live in,” said Hawley. “Bail reform has restricted judges from making decisions they know are most sensible for both the defendants before them and the collective well-being of the people and families that live in the surrounding area. The consequences of this law have been fatal for far too many New Yorkers who have senselessly lost their lives to increased acts of violence in our towns and cities. The bloodshed in our streets has gone on far too long, and it’s time we recognize bail reform as the dangerous failed experiment it really is.”