Magnarelli authors ‘Silver Alert.’ The Omnibus Alzheimer’s Services Act of 2008, passed by the Assembly and Senate, creates the ‘Silver Alert’ system, which would authorize law enforcement, the media and the public to help find cognitively impaired seniors who are lost. Silver Alert would:

• Provide a description of the individual to all police and media outlets; and

• Use locator technology, including global positioning devices and the MedicAlert safe-return program, to find missing seniors.

Protection for seniors. Assemblyman Magnarelli made seniors’ safety a priority by backing laws that will help protect them from criminals. Magnarelli fought for:

• The Elder Abuse Reporting bill, now law, which increases the penalty for criminals who assault the elderly, helping to curb predatory attacks (Ch. 68 of 2008); and

• A law to increase the penalty from a class A misdemeanor to a class E felony if more than one vulnerable elderly person is victimized by a scam artist (Ch. 291 of 2008).

Property tax relief for seniors. Many seniors face rising tax bills with limited ability to pay them. Assemblyman Magnarelli fought for tax relief by:

• Working to pass a state budget that increases Enhanced STAR property tax rebates by 40 percent so eligible seniors can keep more of their hard-earned money; and

• Voting for a tax cap in a special Assembly session, which would provide immediate tax cuts for the majority of middle-income homeowners, and cap the amount of property taxes paid based on household income. If you earn less, you’ll pay less.

333 East Washington Street
Room 840
Syracuse, NY 13202
428-9651
magnarw@assembly.state.ny.us