Senate and Assembly Open to Compromise on 'Raise the Age'

As the end of the state legislative session looms next week with many controversial issues still remaining on the docket, legislators in both houses said Tuesday that they are open to a compromise on "Raise the Age," a proposal to raise the age of criminal responsibility in New York State.  

New York is just one of two states that treat all 16- and 17- year-old suspects as adults. In his State of the State Address this year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he would raise the age of criminal responsibility to 18 years old. Recently, the Assembly’s bill passed through the Rules Committee and will be voted on sometime in the next week.

“It’s more of a negotiating tool with the Senate. It shows them we mean business—that we want to pass the bill,” Assemblyman Joe Lentol told City & State. “We’re willing to compromise if we get a Raise the Age bill. We’re not going to compromise so far as to gut a bill, but we’re looking at what they put forward.”

State Sen. Jack Martins introduced a new Senate Raise the Age bill on June 1. Lentol said he had not yet read Martins' version, but hoped it would be a “vehicle on which to compromise” with the Senate.

Martins told City & State that Raise the Age should be a priority, but that the details—such as what types of cases are going to be adjudicated in family court as opposed to family court—still need to be negotiated. He also said he remains hopeful the issue will be tackled before the end of session.

“It’s the details that matter and that’s what makes it so difficult,” Martins said. “Thankfully, we have people in the Assembly side who have been reasonable. The governor has been part of these discussions. Frankly, at the end of the day, reasonable minds will prevail and we’ll reach a consensus because the people wants to see a Raise the Age bill that reflects the views of our state.”