On January 12, 2002. Sioux Taylor and I attended the quarterly State council meeting in Albany. There were about 30 delegates from Chapters around the state. Sherry Rogers, Chair of the council, called the meeting to order. Kathryn Mazierski, State NOW president who succeeded Lois Shapiro Canter, outlined the current legislative agenda. One of the first things she did as president was review the finances and hire a new fund raising firm. This has already produced enough results to cover the salaries of two staff members and the rental of an office in Buffalo as well as a council-approved lobbying firm to keep contacts alive in the state legislature. Underlining the emphasis on legislation, reports were given by Lori Gardner, the state legislative vice president, Julie Kruger, Director of Governmental Affairs, and the lobbyist.

Legislative concerns:
The second circuit federal court reduced the buffer zone around women's health clinics, reversing the decision of the lower court to increase the zone from 20 to 30 feet. This is the same court that reversed NOW's win against the State Division of Human Rights. NOW asked all 12 justices on the court of appeals to review the buffer zone decision made by the three-judge panel. Let the State NOW office know if there is a surge on anti-choice activities locally, email nownys@aol.com, phone (716) 285-5598.
NOW NYS will develop a gender-neutral pay equity bill, requiring employers to describe job skills so that pay can be based on comparable skills.
Watch for other important bills to support in the State legislature:

• Sexual Orientation Non-discrimination Act (SONDA)
• Women's Health and Wellness
• Paid Family and Medical Leave
• Comprehensive Aid for Rape Survivors

David Raff, of the LAW firm of Raff and Becker, reported on the lawsuit brought seven years ago by NYS, Westchester, and NYC NOW chapters against the State Division of Human Rights (DHR). One reason our chapter worked so hard to pass the Westchester Human Rights Commission legislation two years ago was the average time of seven years it took for cases to be resolved at the State level. Raff and Becker have been handling the lawsuit, pro bono, since its inception. Although we won the case last year, forcing the State to increase staff and to hire a locating firm to track down all the lost plaintiffs, the State appealed, requesting and obtaining an injunction of all remedies The Supreme Court has declined to hear the case. Raff reported that Governor Pataki ordered a management study of DHR at a cost of $100,000, which was never made public. Carl McCall has called for the release of this report. I can't say enough about Raff and Becker. They have pursued this case vigorously from the beginning. When Jon Wegienek and I went to their office holiday party a few years ago, we were highly impressed with the energy and intelligence of their young female attorneys who put in so much time on this case. We knew that they were working on something that mattered to them personally as well as to their clients.

The 2002 gubernatorial candidate's forum on Sunday, January 13 got very good press coverage. One hundred twenty attendees had reserved. All candidates for Governor, NYS Comptroller H. Carl McCall; former HUD Secretary, Andrew Cuomo; Green Party candidate Donald Hassig; and incumbent George Pataki were invited to articulate their vision for New York State, with particular emphasis on women's issues. Unfortunately, Sioux and I could not stay over for the forum, but we got a taste of it on Saturday during the discussion of endorsements. It was decided after vigorous debate to take the next few months to collect information about the candidates and vote on the endorsement at the April council meeting.

Kathryn reported that the state's membership has increased by 1,000 in the past year. Under Kathryn's strong leadership, State NOW has started an effective campus outreach program. We have the first college chapter at SUNY Buffalo and prospective chapters at Stony Brook and Albany, and at Brooklyn College. Jennifer Shagan of Poughkeepsie is reviving the Mid-Hudson Chapter by working with a group of students at Vassar and reaching out to the community by presenting women's history programs during March Women's History Month in the public schools.

All NOW members may attend State council meetings but only chapter delegates may vote. The April meeting should be an interesting one, with discussion focused on endorsements. Look at the NOW State web site, http://www.nownys.com for details on legislation and for late-breaking news.¨