In an effort to keep serial drunk drivers off the road, the New York State Senate recently passed “Vince’s Law,” which would establish a stronger penalty for multiple DWI convictions, reported State Senator Hugh T. Farley (R – Schenectady).

The bill (S.4267) creates a new Class C felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison, if a driver is convicted of three or more DWIs in a 25-year period. Currently, the law for multiple DWIs only includes offenses committed over a 10-year period.

The bill is named for Vincent Russo, an elderly Onondaga County man who was killed in 2011 by a drunk driver who was intoxicated behind the wheel, despite the driver having five DWI-related convictions, including four in the previous 17 years before the accident that killed Mr. Russo.

State Senator Hugh T. Farley (R - Schenectady) announced the New York State Senate recently gave final passage to a bill that would help make it easier and less expensive for legal guardians caring for the elderly or other relatives living out-of-state to carry out their responsibilities.

The measure (S2534) assists New Yorkers caring for adults in other states, as well as out-of-state individuals caring for elderly New Yorkers when they seek approval to fulfill health care, financial, and other legal responsibilities across state lines. It would create a registration form that would be used uniformly by participating states and replace a costly legal process that often required guardians to hire lawyers.

State Senator Hugh T. Farley (R - Schenectady) reported the New York State Senate recently passed a bill to prevent students from cheating by prohibiting the sale or purchase of dissertations, term papers, and similar academic documents online. The legislation (S2405) would prevent academic fraud by discouraging Internet-based services from selling educational papers to students.

Most academic institutions have plagiarism policies in place whereby students who engage in such activity are punished. However, currently there is no New York State law that deters online entities from offering educational papers for sale.